Sandcastle Kingdoms: A Heroes of the Storm Story
by spazmanazz
Summary: Michael Davidson, an eighteen year old like any other, is abruptly pulled into the Nexus. Wrapped up in this interdimensional hub, he intends to make the most of it. (Adventure, humor, drama, and possible romance. This story does not exist in or reference any lore Blizzard has established for HotS.)
1. Chapter 1

He lay on the purple, hexagonal tiled floor, stunned from the force he impacted the ground with. Pained groans and winces escaped the teen's lips as he struggled to push himself from the floor. Once he reached a kneeling position, he observed the architecture that surrounded him. It was unlike anything he had seen before and his jaw gaped in astonishment.

"What on Earth is… oh wait." He paused as he remembered what happened for him to end up here in the first place.

"I don't think I'm on Earth anymore, not in a place like this…" his pale hand reached towards the artificially lighted ground and ice sickles ran along its smooth surface.

Footsteps echoed behind him. He listened closely and anxiously as other sounds were made prominent. Quivered arrows shuffled, and the boy had discerned two separate paces with one more rapid than the other, but never surpassing.

The pale teen turned back and forth swiftly and his eyes darted about the hexagonal room for some kind of cover. His dark brown, borderline black eyes settled on what appeared to be a very tall storage crate, or what resembled one at least.

With as little noise as he could manage, the boy dashed behind the crate and paced his breath such as to where it could only be heard if your ear were right next to his lips.

The echoed steps became clearly heard as they entered the room and then abruptly ended. A high pitched feminine voice spoke up towards whoever else was with them,

"Are you sure someone is here, Valla?" The voice chirped. "I'm not seeing anything."

The deeper, accented voice of a woman replied, "Sight is not the only thing with which you see, Chromie. For example, smell," Valla sniffed the air, "Can tell you many things your eyes cannot."

The woman let loose a bolt from her hand crossbow, skimming the flank of the towering crate and piercing the technological wall.

Witnessing eyes became intense globes.

"Show yourself!" She demanded.

Seeing no point in staying silent, the boy replied:

"Like hell! You'll shoot me!"

The higher pitched voice spoke: "We're not gonna shoot you, we just needed to know if someone was there. You can show yourself, it's okay!" Chromie made a gesture to Valla for her to lower her crossbows. The demon hunter did so, albeit reluctantly.

The teen cautiously stepped out from the cover of the crate, keeping a hawk's gaze on Valla, who would not be out of place as a Van Helsing companion, as he did. His brow and his short, charcoal hair had been slightly dampened. As he advanced from his cover, the boy's breathing pattern became heavy and shaky. Noticing his unease, the disguised bronze dragon moved a couple paces towards him and stretched her arm out as far as she could towards him, presenting herself in a friendly and yet, despite her size, slightly imposing manner.

"I'm Chromie, and this is Valla," said the outgoing 'gnome'. "What's your name?"

Although slightly calmed by the kindness of the Bronze, he warily took the her tiny hand he replied: "Michael. Michael Davidson."

The interrogative voice of the demon hunter came from behind Chromie: "How did you get in here? This is one of the most secure areas in the entire HQ. I want answers."

"What is this room? Why is it so secure?" Michael inquired. "It just looks like some storage room."

"That's none of YOUR concern." Valla retorted. "I'm asking the questions. How did you get here?" She interrogated again, clearly losing her patience.

"I don't even really know what happened myself. I was violently pulled through what I believed to be a portal that just abruptly showed up in the middle of my home."

Chromie raised her eyebrows. "That's different."

"What do you mean, 'different'?"

"None of the other Heroes here were violently pulled into a portal. They were just teleported here with no kind of struggle. Your case is strange, to say the least."

With as much sarcasm as could be managed, Michael replied: "Great. Absolutely fantastic. It's good to know the universe wants to kill me."

To Michael and Chromie's surprise, Valla spoke up. "That's not the case, I guarantee it. No, there's another reason behind the violence of this summoning. Perhaps that's why we weren't notified this time."

"Yeah," Chromie mused. "The Speakers have been silent recently. I don't think they even talk to the Hosts anymore."

"The Speakers? The Hosts?" Michael inquired. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"The Speakers are the ones who notify us of new arrivals and watch over and expand on the Nexus," Chromie clarified. "And the Hosts are the ones who… well, host the tournament matches in their respective battlegrounds."

"So, what exactly is the Nexus?"

Chromie outstretched her arms as far as she could. "You're standing in it. This room and beyond is the Nexus."

Michael raised an eyebrow. "That's a bit vague. How large is it?"

The Bronze put on an attitude that could only be described as sassy asking, "Are you gonna keep asking questions or do you want to see it for yourself?"

"No," Valla objected. "He needs to be contained until we can confirm he is not dangerous. Letting him loose in the Nexus is not an option."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong deary," Chromie cheekily countered. "I'm not letting him loose. He'll be under my supervision, and you know what I can do should he become hostile."

Eyes expanding, a wave of unease ran throughout Michael's body, taking a step back from the now incredibly unsettling 'gnome.'

"The question isn't if you CAN keep him under control. It's if you WILL that concerns me."

"That will remain to be seen I suppose." Chromie moves for the doorway and motioned for Michael to follow her. "Ready to see the Nexus?"

"Yeah," Michael said uneasily. "Sure…"

Michael warily followed Chromie out of the room, leaving Valla behind. Standing alone, the demon hunter spoke to herself.

"I swear, Chromie. That'll be the end of you someday."

She turned to exit the room, but looked behind herself. "Your secrets will be spilled, one way or another."


	2. Chapter 2

He stood there on the cobblestone, eyes wide and blinking, absorbing the scene that lay before him. His globes scanned the plaza, half of himself not believing what was being seen, and the other half in awe that he was seeing it at all.

Chromie's familiar chirping voice made its way into Michael's ear, "Influences from each of the worlds this place is connected to can be seen. Items from each of those worlds and items representing them can be found everywhere. There are also many things that exist only here in the Nexus."

Michael finally made his voice speak, "It's amazing. No one from back home would believe me if I told them what I've seen here. There's just so much to see, and it's all so interesting!"

His awestruck features turned into a scowl.

"Everything I experienced back home was always so dull. My school, the teachers there, and even the students there were dull! You'd think that with thousands of people at a school at least one of them would be interesting, but you'd be wrong. The work was just as dull. Easy, too."

"Adventurous intellectual, huh?"

"If that's what you want to call me. I don't see this becoming dull anytime soon, though, if ever."

An amused voice came from behind Michael and Chromie, "That's good!"

The pair turned to meet the unannounced voice. Chromie became excited, "Valeera! It's good to see you!" The small Bronze leapt at the blood elf and wrapped her arms around Valeera's neck. Chromie swung herself around onto the assassin's shoulders, saddling herself in a piggyback fashion.

Valeera was a blood elf, owning an incredibly long and soft, fluffy head of blonde hair and glowing green eyes. She donned a scarlet red hood and cloak, with the hood currently down and all of her hair pulled in front of her shoulders and flowing around her breasts and down her body to her bare thighs. What she wore on her body was the style of a one piece swimsuit if it was scarlet red and made of leather. She also sported a pair of red, leather knee high boots with cuffs at the top and with an emerald adorned in the center of both cuffs. Valeera wore also a pair of scarlet red leather gloves that stopped just short of her elbow, also owning cuffs at the end.

Michael became slightly amused, "You two seem… close. How long have you known each other?"

Valeera answered without hesitation, "She was the first one I saw when I woke up in the Nexus, and she has been one of my best friends ever since."

Michael caught the subtle emphasis Valeera put on 'friends,' as if she knew what he assumed their relationship was. He kept up the small talk.

"That's cool, she was the first one I saw too. Although a less… friendly character accompanied her."

Valeera raised an eyebrow, "You think I'm friendly? I'm flattered, but who's the one that was with her?"

"Valla." Michael made his distaste of her very apparent.

"Oh, yeah. She's not the most colorful character. Even her rival, Illidan, is less of a drag."

Hearing that Valla had a rival piqued his interest immediately, thinking that he might be able to use this 'rival' to his advantage to get at Valla.

"Why are they rivals? Were they like that from the start?"

Chromie rested her arms on Valeera's blonde head as she replied, "Not at first. They were indifferent to each other at the start but when he introduced himself as a demon hunter, Valla took personal offense to it."

"Because she's a demon hunter too, just a different kind?"

"Well, yes, but they aren't from the same world which makes it even worse. Their definitions of 'demon hunter' are very different. They constantly argue over which of their styles are better, and they always single each other out when in matches against each other. It was amusing at first, but now I feel like it's more war than rivalry."

"Hmm..." Michael thought for a moment before making a reply.

"I know what Valla's is like, I've seen it firsthand, but what's Illidan's like?"

A deep voice came from behind the trio, "You could ask him yourself."

The three turned to find Azeroth's most infamous night elf and demon hunter standing there, arms crossed smugly and wearing, for lack of better words, a shit-eating grin on his face.

Illidan's garb was simple and not much to look at. His torso was bare, covered in swirling green tattoos that occasionally flowed with energy. His long, black hair devoid of light was pulled all the way back into a long, and high, ponytail. He wore brown linen pants that were worn at the hem, and had had fur around the waist. Hanging in the front was a long green cloth with a golden border. The cloth hung to his knees, and towards the top a ruby was adorned on it.

Chromie's voice chirped, "Hi Danny!"

All smugness was lost in that instant, "How many times have I told you not to call me that? It doesn't help my image."

"It's easier for me. Besides, you could stand to lighten up. You're always so edgy."

Illidan released a heavy sigh, "Ugh…" He turned his gaze towards Michael, "Is this new blood?"

Chromie rested her chin on one of her fists, "Maybe. It depends on if he's gonna fight in the tournament of not."

Illidan slightly leaned towards Michael and sized him up, "Doesn't look like much."

"Well neither do I, but I've still done you in plenty of times. He might be special, you never know."

Michael finally spoke up, "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Chromie, but that's the second time you've said something about a tournament. What is it?"

"I'll get to it. For now," Chromie hopped off of Valeera's shoulders, "we have a Nexus to tour. See you two!"

Chromie marched off with Michael not far behind, leaving the two elves alone with each other. Illidan turned to Valeera with a frown, "He should not be here. You sense it, do you not? His presence is unnatural for a human."

"I agree. There is something else there, whether he knows it or not, and it made me want to drain him of it, whatever it is."

"You sense it that strongly?"

"Yes. As soon as he stepped out of the building it drew me to him."

"That's how I found him as well. Don't drain him though, we still need to observe him."

"I know. It just caught me off guard is all."

Illidan took one last gaze in the direction Michael and Chromie departed, "Something tells me that things are going to get much more interesting in times to come."

Valeera nodded in agreement, "Indeed."


	3. Chapter 3

"One day," he said to himself, "she couldn't give me one day before she starts trying to wrap me into the tournament."

Michael had been given, at the request of Chromie, a room and living necessities inside the Heroes of the Storm HQ. She was initially denied, but her stubbornness was not to be underestimated. It's anyone's guess as to how long Chromie actually argued with the manager of the building, but she finally won and happily announced the news to the newcomer.

That was the previous day, and now the teen sat at a basic round, wooden table and ran his slender fingers through his hair and gave a heavy sigh. When being given the tour of the Nexus on the previous day, Chromie showed Michael one of the Heroes of the Storm tournament matches.

"All I did was say it was intense, and she thinks I want to go and fight in the tournament. Jeez…"

The tournament fights in question were 5v5 team assault with unique objectives depending on the battleground the fighters are placed in. Said objectives aid the heroes in destroying sets of defenses, ultimately aiding them to destroy the enemy core which wins them the match.

"Her mind jumps so far ahead of reality it scares me. It would be incredibly interesting to say the least, but I don't want to fight. I've had enough of that for a lifetime."

Michael sat there pondering for at least thirty more minutes before he finally stood up, ready to tell Chromie his decision. He made his way to the door and-

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!"

A focused and incredible force slammed against Michael's chest and sent him flying into the wall on the far side of his room. He shook his head and groaned, feeling… heavier?

"Ugh, what the hell…?"

He looked down and found a small bear creature lying on him and lightly squirming. It spoke, to Michael's surprise, clearly in pain.

"Owww…" the creature groaned in a feminine voice.

Michael came to the conclusion that this thing wasn't going to move on its own and gently removed it from himself and placed it on his bed. He turned to face the doorway where he saw an imposing figure. It had futuristic black armor, had no mouth, owned two crimson red eyes, and it seemed to be floating a few inches off of the ground. It's head looked like a gray carapace, and had only what seemed to be a very long tail of dreadlocks for hair.

"What's your deal, asshole?" Michael interrogated in anger.

"My deal?" replied the creature. "I'll tell you what my 'deal' is. It's that thing. It never leaves you alone and never shuts up. So I dealt with it."

This only served to make Michael more angry, "Yeah, well you could've 'dealt' with it somewhere else." Michael gestured towards the bear creature, "I'm surprised you didn't kill either of us."

The crimson-eyed humanoid only shrugged, "It wouldn't matter even if I did. You'd just respawn anyhow."

"I don't care. Just get lost, would you?" Michael went to the door and slammed it shut. He then turned back to his bed, where the bear creature was sitting up and rubbing its head. Now that Michael got a better look at it, he saw it owned the signature black and white pattern of a panda, had long hair put up in a ponytail, and wore pink clothing with wooden sandals on its feet. Two blue straps ran over its shoulders keeping a brown bag, with what seemed to be a map sticking out of a pocket, on its back. The thing was also very short, but had about two feet on Chromie at a glance. However, Michael stood taller than both of them at six feet tall.

Michael spoke with concern, "Hey, are you alright? You took a pretty hard hit."

"So did you, I imagine." the creature spoke, partially sitting up on her elbows, "I should be fine. Heh, sorry to intrude."

The teen's concern lessened but was still apparent, "Do you mind if I ask your name?"

The small humanoid sat straight up, saluted, and spoke with strangely renewed energy, "Li Li Stormstout, at your service!"

The boy reached out his hand to shake Li Li's, "I'm Michael. Michael Davidson. Nice to meet you. If you don't mind my asking, what are you exactly?"

Li Li replied energetically again, giggling as she did, "I'm a pandaren, silly! I'm also a master of healing brews. I've been taught everything I know by my uncle Chen. You should meet him! He'll like you right away, I'm sure. He's got a brewery here in the Nexus. Want to go?"

Michael pondered on it for a few moments knowing that he needed to tell Chromie his decision, but it couldn't hurt to wait a little longer right?

"There's no harm in it I suppose, and I don't recall going to any breweries yesterday with Chromie so it's something I haven't seen yet."

The pandaren girl's face lit up, "Is that a yes?"

Michael gave her a half smile, "Yup. Lead the way."

Li Li cheered and leapt off of the bed, "Come on!"

Before Michael even moved, Li Li was already at the door and making her way out. He was surprised at the girl's speed, and took off after her.

"Another interesting character, it seems." Michael spoke to himself. Beginning to realize the fault of running all the way to the brewery, he called out to Li Li, "Hey, slow down!" Li Li slowed to walking speed and Michael caught up.

With a couple of light breaths, Michael spoke, "You don't have to move that fast. It's still early, we have time. Besides, we can talk to each other on the way there, and I think that's better than hauling ass all the way there. Don't you?"

Li Li replied, slightly embarrassed, "Yeah, I was just excited."

"I can't be the only one who's ever agreed to hang out with you, right?"

The girl giggled childishly, "No, of course not! But you are the first new person who has."

"Well you do come off rather strongly, and that can push people away, so try to be a little more calm and reserved. You're not trying to sell a product, you're meeting a person."

Li Li sighed, "Okay, I'll try. What did you want to talk about?"

Michael thought for a moment before he replied, "How about the worst prank you've ever had played on you?"

The pandaren tilted her head back and laughed, "Oh, that one's all too easy. There was this one time that someone replaced all of my healing brew with water before a match…"


	4. Chapter 4

"You're kidding? You RODE on a demon's back? On DIABLO'S back?"

Li Li shook her head, "No jokes here. Ask him yourself if you don't believe me." She turned her head away from Michael to observe their position. They were coming up on the brewery.

"It's right there," Li Li motioned, and Michael's eyes followed. They turned onto the cobblestone path that led up to it. Michael read the sign sitting out front.

The sign read Pandamonium.

Michael scoffed, "You're kidding me right? That's what it's called?"

Li Li hummed in conformation, "He's a real fan of that pun. Want to go inside now?"

"Yeah, sorry. It's just that name is so-"

The front door of the brewery burst open and a red streak flew out straight towards Michael and Li Li. There was just enough time for Michael to react, wrapping his arms around Li Li's abdomen and leaping to the side. They hit the ground with a solid thud.

"Ugh…" Michael groaned. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I should be fine," Li Li let out a heavy sigh, "Those were fantastic reflexes! You could fight in the tournament with those."

There it was again. The tournament. The thing he wanted to escape with this outing and yet it still followed him.

Michael stood up and extended a hand to Li Li, "I don't know about that. I'm not a particularly good fighter."

Li Li accepted the boy's hand and pulled herself up, "You could be! I mean you're tough, you're fast, and you take care of others. Even people you barely know! That's the making of a team player right there."

"Team player doesn't mean good fighter," Michael corrected.

A jolly voice bellowed from the doorway, "But it can make you a better one! Being able to fight alongside others is just as important as being able to fight alone."

"Nice life lesson. Are you Chen?" Michael inquired.

"Indeed I am! Welcome to Pandamonium!" he bellowed again.

Michael turned around to observe what, or rather who, flew out of the brewery at them. He was standing up now, and was a blood elf like Valeera. He owned a flowing crimson cloak and three green orbs of fire above his head. He had also a head of long blonde hair that flowed as freely as his cloak. He yelled at Chen before storming off, "I'll make you pay for that, you tub of lard!"

"Charmer," Michael muttered to himself. He and Li Li began to make their way towards the brewery.

Li Li replied to him, "That's Kael'thas, but most people just call him Kael. He thinks he owns every place that he walks into."

"Ah," Michael mused. "Does Chen do that often? Throwing people out, I mean."

"No. He's only ever done it twice, including this time."

Curious, Michael asked, "What was the first time?"

Chen answered him, "Muradin and Falstad got into a drunken brawl over some bet they had. Threw them both out at the same time. You know, despite their size, dwarves are quite heavy."

"Huh. By the way, you almost hit Li Li and I when you threw out Kael. Just putting that out there."

Chen gave an amused chuckle, "My apologies. I didn't see you before I threw him. But enough about that, come inside! I'm positive I'll have something to your liking."

The trio stepped inside the pandaren's brewery. Michael got a better look at Chen and saw that, compared to Li Li, he was incredibly large. Not in the good way, however. Chen was fat with not a single toned muscle on his body. A portion of his mid-length hair was tied into a topknot tail, with the rest coming down the length of his neck and to the top of his forehead. He was wearing black pants and a black tunic, both with paw symbols on them. The tunic had them on the elbows, while the pants had them on the knees. Like Li Li, Chen also wore wooden sandals on his feet. Around his waist was a thick rope belt that held flasks, presumably full of drink. As a final touch to his traditional look, he had his hat hanging down on his back with the thin string on it hanging from his neck to keep it from falling.

"Actually, Uncle, Michael isn't here to drink your beer. I brought him to meet you. What happened out there was the second time he helped me today."

Chen raised a brow and stroked his chin, "Is that so? Then my thanks to you, friend." Chen extended his hand out to Michael, who accepted it and shook it.

"Anytime. I'm not particularly fond of seeing good people knocked around."

Chen let out a light chuckle, "That'll make you a lot of friends in the future, as well as a lot of enemies."

"There are always two sides of a coin, no matter what it is." Michael scowled, "I just wish there weren't so many on the other side."

The large pandaren's face became somber, "As do we all, but we cannot control the world to be as we want it. Going down that path will lead you to darkness, I guarantee it."

Chen's words were left hanging in the air. Michael strode up to the bar and sat on one of the stools, that had no one surrounding it for at least two more down the line on either side, and folded his thin arms on the counter. Li Li took the seat to his left and Chen made his way behind the bar.

Michael took this downtime to observe his surroundings. The brewery wasn't jam-packed full of people, but it certainly wasn't empty. About seven meters straight from the entrance was the bar, where a few people are huddled at both ends, which was about ten to twelve meters long. To the left and right of the entrance, with about one meter from the doorframe for space, were booths lined up on the wall. In a good portion of the open space left over, tables were spread out with square ones on the left side of the brewery and circular ones on the right. Everything tended to be made of bamboo except for the bar counter, and the tables in and out of the booths, which were made of light wood.

Michael muttered to himself, "Darkness, huh?" Michael then decided to bring up the Heroes of the Storm tournament, seeing as it would just follow him anywhere he went, "What's it take to qualify to fight in the tournament?"

Li Li snapped her head faster than a bullet to look at Michael, while Chen almost tripped over himself walking down behind the bar. Other patrons sitting there looked at Michael in bewilderment.

Li Li blinked her wide eyes a couple times before saying anything, "You're actually considering joining it? As a Hero? I thought you said you weren't going to!"

Michael quickly corrected the situation before Li Li, or anyone really, started on a tangent, "I'm asking out of curiosity, not because I want to join it. It might help me… appreciate what goes into being a Hero."

Chen spoke up, "There's only a trial system for Nexians, not Heroes who were summoned by the Speakers. Even then, there's nothing you can do to prepare for the trials. Each one is different depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the individual."

"So you can't expect anything, then." Michael concluded.

"Well, no," Li Li drew out, "but it will push you to the absolute limit. It's so difficult every Nexian just gives up."

"Well, I'm stubborn and I don't give up very easily. Besides, I'm not even from the Nexus, so I'm not a part of 'everyone'."

Li Li gave a heavy sigh, "If you say so. But don't tell us we didn't tell you so." Li Li turned from Michael and began to drink a glass of water she had but she suddenly widened her eyes and quickly turned to Michael again, "Wait a minute, 'not from the Nexus'? It all makes sense now! That's why you were there in that room and not registered in the tournament yet! You're the guy Chromie and Valla found yesterday!"

"Yup, that would be me. News gets around quickly among Heroes, huh?" Michael replied nonchalantly. "I'm still not sure why Chromie argued for me to have my own room in the HQ instead of having me bunk with someone else. I guess I just made a good impression on her."

"I'll say! She couldn't stop droning on to everyone last night about how special she thought you were, like you were some prodigy child or something."

Why would she do that? Michael thought. I haven't even done anything noteworthy yet, let alone to deserve this kind of praise.

"I'm not a prodigy," Michael stated with some anger. "I'm just a kid who was taken from his home. One that I might not return to."

Li Li's bright face fell to a neutral yet somber position. Chen's did the same, however he tried to give some kind of encouragement to the teen, "You don't know for sure that you'll never go home. All you have to do is find out what or who brought you here and get it or them to send you back."

Michael scoffed and replied sarcastically, "That's all?"

An embarrassed look ran over Chen's face, but he replied, "No. That's the goal. The journey will be there much harder, I'm sure."

"The hardest," Michael corrected. He turned his eyes up to Chen, "But I did say I didn't give up easily, didn't I?"

Michael smirked and muttered to himself, "Everything changes."


	5. Chapter 5

Michael laid on his back in his bed. The words Li Li had said to him about Chromie the previous day floated in his mind.

 _She couldn't stop droning on to everyone last night about how special she thought you were, like you were some prodigy child or something._

The words repeated themselves in his head again and again. _Why would she act like that? What happened to me? Wait, he didn't ACTUALLY do that, did he? No, there's no way. Whatever he did, it didn't do anything to me. I don't feel-_

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK, the loud noise ripped Michael from his thoughts and made him shoot up to a sitting position leaning on his hands.

The teen called out to the door, "Who is it?"

A very familiar high pitched voice cut through the door, "It's Chromie! You wanted to talk to me?"

Michael pushed himself up and slid to sit at the edge of the bed, "Yeah, come in. It's unlocked"

The door was pushed open from outside without so much as a squeak of the hinges. A familiar time traveling 'gnome' stood in the doorway armed with her familiar sunshine smile.

"Go ahead and take a seat," Michael gestured towards the round table in the center of his room. Chromie hopped up onto the table's edge and sat swinging her small legs and looking around the room for a few moments before letting her eyes fall on Michael.

"So…" Chromie began. Michael cut her off before she said anything else.

"You knew, didn't you?" he spat, eyes on the dull carpet floor.

Chromie's cheerful demeanor fell a bit, "I'm not sure what you mean."

The teen's eyes remained fixed at the ground, "The tournament," Michael's eyes flicked up to Chromie, "you knew that people who weren't summoned like you were would have to undergo a trial to become a Hero. I'm also not on the roster like a summoned hero would be as soon as they arrived here in the Nexus."

Chromie's positive attitude dissipated, and she was staring at Michael with wide eyes.

"Yeah. I did my homework, Chromie. I spoke with others about how it worked. You intended to pull strings and have me skip the trials and make me a Hero so I could permanently stay here in the HQ, didn't you? The reason I couldn't find you yesterday?"

The Bronze's gaze drifted towards the floor a look of shame dominating her face, "Yes."

Michael stood up to his full height and began pacing. Chromie's emerald eyes didn't move a muscle. The silence between them persisted for a minute, but Michael stopped and broke it, "I'm going through the trials."

Chromie's head jerked towards him, her lips halfway open and a look of incredible concern ran across her features, "You can't! No one has ever completed them! You wouldn't last!"

Michael turned and snapped at her, "And yet you seem to think that I'm some sort of prodigy! Why? What do you sense about me that sets me apart? You think I didn't notice the way Illidan was inquiring about me? The way you responded? That I wouldn't ask about what the hell you were going on about?"

Michael took a few light breaths through his lips, and recomposed himself, speaking softly, "What is it Chromie? What did you see?"

"It's not what I saw, it's what ILLIDAN saw," Chromie corrected. "He told me he saw the NEXUS. Every Hero gains a tiny bit of Nexus power, giving us one or two abilities we didn't have before. Malfurion, for example, is able to blink because of it. But in you, Illidan saw that power one-hundredfold." Chromie sighed, "Li Li spoke to me earlier. She said that when Alarak threw her into your room, you took the full force of it and barely got hurt. And when Chen threw Kael'thas out of his brewery, you reacted and got yourself and Li Li out of the way before she even saw it. Only registered Heroes have that kind of toughness, and only specific ones are that fast because of who or what they are."

Michael stared at the wall completely still and in silence for a few moments before he spoke, "No, you're wrong." he turned to look at Chromie, "I haven't changed since I was pulled through that portal."

"The evidence says otherwise, Michael."

"The evidence?" Michael scoffed, "The only 'evidence' that you have is your word and what Illidan allegedly saw. Until I have proof of this power, I'm not believing a word of it."

The pair sat there for another minute or two in silence. Chromie dared to break it, "So what made you change your mind about joining the tournament? You were pretty adamant about staying out of it when I discussed it with you the other day."

Michael stood in silence for a few moments before giving his answer, "Everything."

Chromie tilted her head in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Michael turned his eyes towards Chromie, "My life gets more interesting, I get to hang out with you and all of the other Heroes more, and I'll be the first non-summoned Hero to participate in the tournament. I've got nothing to lose but my pride. The trials will also show me what my strengths and weaknesses are, so I'll know how I fight best in certain situations against certain enemies."

The Bronze gave a warm smile, and then abruptly hopped off of the table. She turned back to face Michael, "If you have a goal, you have a path to follow. Your path is hard to tread, but at least it's there," Chromie turned back to the door and began to leave, "and I'm with you every step of the way whether you like it or not."

As she left the room, Michael's lips parted slightly and his eyebrows raised. He then sighed, resting his pale features in a small smile and nodding to himself.

Chromie's head popped back around doorway looking expectantly at Michael, "Well, are you coming or not?"

The boy raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean? Do you have something to show me?"

"More like I have some people I want you to meet. Come on, They're already waiting!"

The Bronze disappeared behind the wall, not coming back to remind him again, Michael thought.

"Never a dull moment," Michael muttered to himself. He quickly jogged after Chromie, catching up to her with ease.

"So, who are these people I'm meeting?" Michael inquired.

"A group of Heroes who have gathered to discuss on the best way to work with your situation," Chromie casually replied.

"I'm going to assume that you're one of them?"

Chromie giggled at Michael's insight, "I guess I can't get anything past you, can I? Yes, I'm one of them."

Michael smirked and looked down at the Bronze. He never really thought about it before, but the way Chromie's loose, sandy blonde twin buns bounced with every step she took was kind of cute. Her tiny stature didn't help either, paired with her rapid walking pace. The teen refocused his gaze on the path ahead, speaking to the 'gnome,' "I hope their solution isn't 'put him in a box until we can establish that he's safe.' I wouldn't last five seconds like that.'

Chromie abruptly giggled again, "If they even think of suggesting that, I will personally shut them down. I will not compromise your freedom here."

Michael smiled softly and replied, "Thanks for everything, Chromie. I'm gonna have to repay you for this one day."

"Repay me by passing the trials and winning your first Heroes of the Storm match. Then we'll be even," the Bronze replied rather smuggly.

The teen laughed, "That's a tall order, but I'll do my best."

Chromie took an abrupt left in the hall the pair were going down, and Michael followed a little warily, "This feels strangely familiar… hold up."

They stopped in what seemed to be a storage room, with a very familiar crate and a matching hole in the wall.

"That explains it," Michael said to no one in particular.


	6. Chapter 6

Michael stood in confusion, an eyebrow raised and his mouth partially open, "I have to ask; what are we doing here? There's no one here but us, and all I'm seeing is a room with very unpleasant memories for me."

"It's no coincidence that you were dropped in this room, Michael," Chromie stated. "This is very much one of the most secure places in the HQ, and that's because this is a secret meeting place for a group of us Heroes. The only ones that know we exist are us, Li Li, Chen, and now you."

"What do Li Li and Chen have to do with this?"

The 'gnome' replied, "As of recently, their brewery has become a place where many rumors gather. We've asked them to be extra eyes and ears for us, and they agreed."

Michael silently nodded in understanding as Chromie went to the wall on the far right of the room, placing her hand upon the wall and pushing in one of the hexagonal plates on the wall. This caused a door directly to the left of her hand to open, where inside Michael saw eleven Heroes sitting around a long, rectangular wooden table with the twelfth chair empty, which he assumed was Chromie's.

The Bronze turned back to look at Michael, with a small smile across her features and gesturing widely with her arms, "Michael, meet the Storm Council!"

The Storm Council is a circle of Heroes who gather to discuss events in the Nexus. These range to how to set up the Nexus holidays, how to prepare unique events celebrating the arrival of new Heroes, or to discuss unusual happenings such as Michael's arrival into the Nexus. The members of the council were: Medivh, Jaina, Raynor, Artanis, Uther, Valla, Illidan, Valeera, Chromie, Nova, Malfurion, and Sylvanas.

Chromie took her seat at the table, and Michael followed up to the right of her chair. She sat at the far end of the table on the door side of the room, and Medivh sat straight across the length of the table just opposite to her.

"Council members, this is Michael Davidson. He's the one that abruptly appeared here a few days ago. He intends to go through the trials and become a Hero," Chromie stated matter-of-factly.

Valeera was the only one to voice herself, "He's doing WHAT?"

Illidan lazily and smugly replied to the assassin, "Did your ears stop working?"

"No, of course not, it's just that it's never been done before! He'll lose any determination he had within the first round, and that's a fact."

"What about the power that you two told me you felt? Was that a lie?" Chromie inquired.

Illidan retorted, "Of course not! Why would I lie about him? He's not worth my time to lie about!"

"Rest it, Stormrage," Valla interjected. "What's your take on this, Artanis?"

The golden armored Protoss stroked his chin for a moment before voicing himself, "I'm not entirely sure what to make of him yet. But Chromie was right to bring him in front of this council. He is not like any Nexian I've seen, let alone any human I've seen."

The echoed voice of the Banshee Queen reverberated throughout the hall, "I want to see that fool attempt the trials for myself. He won't last a single minute in there."

Sanctuary's demon hunter spoke, "What did I tell you, Chromie? We should have kept him confined! But now he's getting delusions of grandeur, and whose fault is it if he gets himself hurt or killed in the process?"

"He can't die here," Chromie defended, "and I don't think I have to worry about him getting hurt." She turned her head back and forth floating her gaze across the rest of the Council, "Has Li Li told any of you what happened yet?"

The rest just shook their heads and some muttered 'no' as they did. Chromie resumed, "Alarak threw Li Li full force into Michael's chest causing him to fly back and hit the far wall of his room. He didn't even have a scratch on him; wasn't even phased."

The Council muttered to themselves and shifted around in their seats. Raynor inquired further, "Ain't Heroes registered in the tournament the only ones with that kind of defense outside of matches? Did we get a new one and not even know it?"

"No," Valla corrected. "I made sure to check the roster after Chromie decided to take the child on a 'tour.' His name, or any new names for that matter, were nowhere to be found."

There was silence for a short time. The council seemed to be in thought before Michael abruptly spoke against the quiet, "I don't believe a bit of it you know."

The Council turned their heads towards him as he began to pace back and forth behind Chromie's chair, "All this talk about me having some sort of power that's connected to the Nexus… I just don't see it. I don't feel any different from before I was pulled through the portal."

"It's always the same description," Medivh stated. "'He was pulled through the portal,' 'he said the portal pulled him into itself,' 'I was pulled through the portal.' Do you want to know what pulls, Michael? People. People pull. A portal, a normal portal, will not pull someone into it unless a person makes it. Someone pulled you through the portal, the portal did not pull you."

"I assume that this is going somewhere…?"

Azeroth's guardian sighed and locked his eyes with Michael's, "You are not here by accident. You make your appearance almost exactly a week after the Speakers go silent? I do not believe for a single moment that is a coincidence." Medivh leaned forward, resting his head on his interlaced hands, "What happened between the time that you were pulled into the portal and the time that you exited it?"

Michael responded without hesitation, "Nothing. I've told you, Chromie, Valla, and everyone else I've been asked by: nothing."

"You know exactly what happened," Medivh replied. "You're hiding the truth. Why are you lying to us?"

The teen's features reflected disbelief, "Have you gone nuts? Have you listened to a single thing that I've said?"

"Yes, I have listened, but I don't believe you. Unless you put two and two together, you wouldn't be acting so passionate about not having this power. You know exactly why you have it, and you're not telling us. Why would you hide it from us? We want to know why someone like you, seemingly unimportant in your world, would be given such a tremendous power."

There was silence for a time, enough time to make it feel like that, to Michael, time itself had stopped and froze them in that exact moment. The boy looked at the ground, choosing his next words incredibly carefully.

Michael lifted his eyes back to meet Medivh's, "Someone or something spoke to me during my time inside the portal. I don't know who or what it was, but it spoke in a language that I didn't understand. That's all I know, so if you're all done interrogating me then I'm gonna go."

The teen began to make his way out of the sanctum, but Medivh blocked his way with arcane magic. Michael turned back, his eyes meeting Medivh's, "What is it now? I told you I'm done."

The Guardian said nothing. He dissipated the wall behind Michael and his eyes began to glow with a blue-purple hue, signaling that he was about to cast a spell. One that wouldn't be friendly, and Michael began to realize that.

Medivh raised a hand that had the signature blue-purple hue of arcane magic in Michael's direction. He let loose a bolt of arcane energy that flew directly at Michael's chest with frightening speed.

None of the Heroes could react fast enough to get to the boy in time, and all Michael could do was cross his arms in front of his chest in a futile attempt to block the spell. He waited for the knock-back and the incredible pain that would follow…

But it never came. There was no knock-back, no pain, just silence. Michael slowly lowered his arms and looked down at his hands. His eyes then traveled up and around the room. His gaze met a jaw-dropped Chromie, an intrigued Sylvanas, a wide-eyed Valeera, a stone-faced Artanis, a concerned Valla, a smug Illidan, an shocked Nova, a processing Jaina, a realizing Malfurion, and an understanding Uther. His eyes finally rested on Medivh, who nodded his head in confirmation.

"It is as I suspected, then," the Guardian stated. "He _is_ the Speaker's agent."


	7. Chapter 7

Michael stared at the titanic rack in awe, "Can… can I really touch them?"

"Of course you can," Valeera replied with a chuckle. "You're free to access the Wall of Arms until the trials."

The wall that the pair stood in front of was covered in many different weapons in many different variations. Swords, guns, bows, crossbows, axes, hammers, polearms, and many other unique weapons adorned the Wall. Some looked like they were meant to be worn on your arm, your leg, or even your shoulder. Each and every weapon also had their own unique way of being stored, whether it be a simple scabbard, the weapon folding into itself, both of the former, or something else.

"How do I even begin to choose?" Michael wondered. "There are so many that I don't think I'll be able to!"

"Take your time." Valeera reassured him. "Your only focus right now is to find what feels comfortable for you. If your not comfortable while fighting, you'll never win."

Taking the assassin's words to heart, Michael slowly sauntered down the Wall, examining every individual weapon. There were some which he knew for a fact that he couldn't wield, such as large two-handed axes and hammers, as well as flails, but he looked at them nonetheless. Valeera remained where she stood at the beginning of the wall, observing Michael judge each option before him.

Michael was halfway down the Wall of Arms when a certain weapon caught his attention. It looked similar to Uther's hammer in shape, but it was scaled down as to be wielded in one hand. The hammer's design was unique, however, with rectangles of Nexus blue-purple light dimly glowing out from either side of the head. He followed the weapon's shape down to the hilt, where it was wrapped in a deep purple material—which he would've assumed was some sort of leather, but this was the Nexus, and anything could be made out of anything. He finally set his eyes on the pommel, which was a perfect sphere, glowing with the same light as the head of the hammer.

Michael took a step towards the weapon, but something else caught his eye; a shield, hexagonal in shape and rounded on the front for glancing attacks off. Also, the shield had the same exact decal as the Heroes of the Storm tournament logo on the entire shield, with the signature rotating engraved blades. However, in this instance, the blades did not rotate on the shield. The blades were silver in base color, and the engravings were a light blue. The rest of the shield was colored the signature deep blue-purple color of the Nexus.

The teen took another step towards the hammer and shield, first taking the shield off of the rack and starting to fit it to his left arm. He slipped his arm through the straps and grasped the handle to keep it steady. The two straps came down over his wrist and just before his elbow, but the shield itself was just a bit wider than that. The edges of the shield perpendicular to his arm stopped about five inches beyond his elbow and about five inches past the handle. Despite the shield's size, it was somewhat light, allowing Michael to wield it with some ease.

Michael then slipped the hammer from its place on the wall. He adjusted it in his hand a few times and when it felt comfortable, he took a couple hefty swings with it. Like the shield, the hammer was lighter than it appeared, allowing Michael to wield it.

"This feels… oddly natural," Michael concluded. "I've always favored hammers in fantasy games, but I didn't expect to prefer them for real."

Valeera spoke up, "Well, you know what you like! That also gives us more time to get you into fighting shape before the trials. You ready to start?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Michael replied with a nervous sigh.

The pair turned around to face the training room. It was incredibly large and spacious, as was to be expected with a place that might need to be used by the Lord of Terror or other such members. There was a massive glass box in the center of the room, with about thirty meters of space in all directions between the walls, which was used to practice against holographic versions of other Heroes or for two actual Heroes to duel each other. There were also different arrangements of training dummies for damage practice and for healing practice; some were alone for single target practice and some were arranged in groups for area target practice. At the far end of the room against the wall opposite of Michael and Valeera was an incredibly long lane, which was used to practice effectiveness against waves of lane minions.

"Where am I even supposed to start?" Michael asked.

Valeera thought for a moment, "Let's just start with the dummies. Figure out your handle on your weapon. Just get a feel for what hitting things with it is like."

Michael followed the assassin's direction and went to the nearest training dummy. He studied it for a moment, examining its dark blue-purple metal exterior, and then brought his arm back in preparation to swing and then brought the hammer around, striking the dummy clean on the head with a satisfying 'crack.' Michael swung again; crack. And again; crack. The head still remained in place, but had a bit of visible damage on either side of it. Michael raised the hammer above his head and brought it down on top of the dummy's head; CRACK. A large dent was now visible on the top of the dummy's head, and Michael took a step back.

"Not gonna lie, that feels really damn good," Michael stated. "I think I'm gonna stick with this."

"Great!" Valeera exclaimed. "What kind of armor are you gonna wear?"

"Armor?" Michael hadn't really thought about that. He was comfortable with what he was wearing. A purple hoodie with a kite shield decal on the front, semi-baggy dark blue jeans held to his waist by a black leather belt, and laced black sneakers.

"Yes, armor! Your not just gonna wear that on the front lines, are you?" Valeera asked condescendingly. "If you're gonna go melee, you're gonna need armor!"

"And yet even as a melee fighter you still wear… that." Michael looked Valeera up and down examining her choice of attire.

Valeera slightly blushed at Michael's observation, "Okay, first of all, I fought in a gladiatorial arena in this and survived. Second, I'm able to wear this because I'm skilled enough to not get hit. Third, I'm an assassin, and thus I don't wear heavy armor. You're using a shield, which means you've opted to be the one taking hits. If you're gonna do that, you've got to wear good, solid armor."

The assassin returned to the beginning of the Wall of Arms and pressed a button. The Wall then flipped over, presenting a wide selection of armor almost as large as the selection of weapons.

"We're really going all out, aren't we?" Michael asked with a chuckle of amusement.

"Trust me," Valeera began, "you're gonna need to go all out for the trials, even if you are the Speaker's 'agent' or whatever."

"I've been meaning to ask about that, actually. What the hell even is the 'Speaker's agent?' Why am I such a big deal?" Michael inquired.

Valeera was silent for a few moments before she replied, "Medivh thinks that you're the key to getting the Speakers back in action. To make them talk again."

"What if I'm not?" Michael inquired further.

"We'll burn that bridge when we get to it. For now, just focus on getting ready for the trials." Valeera instructed.

Michael had thought about asking just what the Storm Council was, but noted that it was kept secret from other Heroes for a reason. Asking about it in public, even with no one around probably wasn't a good idea. He turned back towards the intimidating number of armor sets and began to saunter down the Wall again.

As the teen look over the armor, he noticed they all had one thing in common: they all had a deep Nexus purple skin-tight undersuit with light blue lines traveling down the entirety of it to wear the armor over. He wasn't particularly fond of skin-tight clothes, but knew that it was for ease of equipping the armor.

Despite Michael's dread of that particular fact, he did single out a set of armor that looked promising. It was the deep Nexus purple, with glowing light blue lines running down each piece of the armor. Michael knew from the shape and the texture that it was some sort of metal or metal alloy, but did not doubt its durability and protection; it was made in the Nexus, after all. The style of it appeared traditional enough for plate armor, but there were some things that made it stand out. The set did not have armor over the joints nor did it carry a helmet. Instead, the set sported a smooth metal face mask mimicking the base color of the rest of the armor and owning a pair of light blue lines flowing down the front of it, and the entirety of the left arm was unarmored except for a deep Nexus purple glove stopping at the wrist and a sleeve of chain mail connected to it. That detail was clearly meant for shield users.

"That one," Michael abruptly stated. "I'm going to use that one."

Valeera went to Michael's side and observed the choice that he'd made, "A fitting set, given your weapons. Thick, durable, and still allowing for ample movement to swing your hammer."

The assassin pulled a lever next to the armor-covered mannequin, causing it to be removed from the wall and descended into a tripod of wheels that had been spawned under it. She turned to Michael, pointing past his shoulder, "There's a fitting room at the end of the Wall. Go equip your gear and come back out so I can see how it fits you."

Michael followed her instruction and proceeded to the fitting room. Valeera turned to face the empty training room and let out a sigh, "I sincerely hope that kid is able to fix all of this, Chromie. I hate having to act in the Speakers' place with the Council."

"I know," a voice chirped from the training room's entrance. "We all do, but we have to do the best with what we're given. That's all anyone can ask for, right?"

"I suppose," Valeera concluded.

They stood silent there for a number of minutes before Michael emerged from the fitting room and returned to Valeera and her new guest. The pair turned their gazes towards him as he approached, and their eyes expanded. The group was silent for a few moments.

Michael began to worry, "Shit, did I put it on wrong? Is it too big? Too small?"

Valeera shook her head, "No, no, on the contrary. I didn't expect it to fit you so… perfectly."

Michael raised a brow at the way she uttered 'perfectly,' but decided it ignore it. Chromie stepped out from behind Valeera and voiced herself, "I think you look awesome, Michael."

He breathed a sigh of relief, " Thank you. I still have a long way to go, though. I'm not gonna beat the trials by looking good." He paused for a moment, "Here's to long and rigorous training."

"Hear, hear," Valeera said with some amusement.


	8. Chapter 8

One month.

Michael had been training for one, god forsaken month and he was getting to his limit. He was getting exuberantly winded and sore at the end of each session, and today was no different. He was once again, as he had been since he started training, sparring with Artanis, a warrior class fighter like himself. Michael sparred with him in 'The Box,' as the Heroes like to refer to the dueling space. He fought in a kind of clumsy dance with Artanis, and after a time the Protoss retreated from an exhausted Michael.

"We're coming to the end of our session time. Would you like to retire for the day?" Artanis asked.

"Please," Michael blurted, out of breath. Sighing heavily, he dropped down his arms and let them hang limp, barely keeping his fingers' hold on his hammer. He approached a nearby bench and seated himself, relaxing his entire body as he did.

"You have improved considerably," Artanis stated. "A quick study like you should be learning from many different sources. I've already discussed the details with your next trainer, and they will begin tutoring you in two weeks. You will have the next week as a break, and then you will return to your training. You've earned it."

Michael's face lit up. He had heard the stories, and experienced first hand, of Artanis' fighting prowess. If Artanis said that Michael earned something, then the boy took it as high praise.

"You really think so?" Michael exhaled.

"Of course," Artanis replied. "Your speed, power, and overall fighting skill have increased significantly over the past month. Your stamina has improved as well, as you are now able to spar with me nonstop for almost an hour whereas you could only manage ten minutes on the first day."

Michael didn't really notice the fact that he could last longer than he did at first, not until Artanis mentioned it anyways, but he did feel like the sessions became longer with each passing day. He was silent, contemplating how he was going to utilize the downtime between switching trainers.

"MICHAEL!" a young, feminine voice sounded from across the training room.

 _Great_ , Michael thought. _I can't even get a moment's break without something happening._

"MICHAEL!" the voice sounded again.

"I'm over here, Li Li!" the boy replied. A familiar pandaren girl rushed over to Michael with the sun shining from her face. She stood there beaming for a few moments before Michael spoke, "What is it? I've never seen you this excited before."

Li Li finally let it burst forth, "I heard that you're moving on to your next level of training in two weeks, and that you have the week between now and then off! Is that really true?"

What? How could she have known? Artanis had literally just told Michael about it, who else knew?

 _Unless_ … Michael thought. _The Council. She's in their circle while not actually being a member. Artanis must've informed them before me, and they must have told Li Li. Which means Chen probably also knows, and he loves to celebrate stuff. Well… shit._

Michael let out a heavy sigh before replying to Li Li, "Yes, I have a week off before I start the next phase of my training, but I'm not gonna just sit on my ass and do nothing. I'm gonna be keeping myself in shape until then, and then it's back to daily exhaustion."

Li Li's demeanor fell, "Aww, c'mon. Chen wants to throw you a party! At least take one day off?" The girl folded her hands in front of her chest, "Please?"

 _Called it._

Li Li begged Michael with pathetic eyes even Sylvanas would have a difficult time denying.

Michael sighed heavily once again, "Listen, I'm not going to just train the whole time. Just enough to where I won't lost my edge. You don't want me to not be able to protect you when we're on the battlefield, do you?"

Li Li dropped her hands and pouted, "Come on, that's not fair! You're not even a Hero yet, so you can't use that argument!"

The boy grinned in amusement, "I know. But even still, when I am a Hero that argument will apply. Best get in that mindset now so I'm used to it when the time finally comes around."

It was the girl's turn to sigh this time, "You can be a real pain sometimes, you know that?"

"Comes with the territory," Michael countered. "When does Chen want to hold the party?"

Any trace of negative emotion disappeared from the pandaren girl's face, "He wants to hold it as soon as possible, but he wanted me to get the date that would work best for you."

The teen rested his chin in the palm of his gauntleted hand and pondered for a few moments. He lifted his head back up and turned his gaze to Li Li, "Any day between now and the time I start my next level of training is fine, but I should probably give you some time. How does next Friday sound?"

Li Li pondered the date for a moment, "Yeah, that'll work. It's probably more than enough time, but that's not really a bad thing… Okay! I'll let uncle Chen know. Bye!"

Artanis and Michael watched the girl bounce happily out of the training room. The Protoss turned to Michael, "She seems to have grown quite fond of you."

The boy turned back to face Artanis, "We've known each other for a little over a month, so I think it's safe to say we're friends. Well, I guess a little more than 'safe.' It's a given at this point."

Michael closed his eyes and sat back against the bench. The pair sat in silence for a while, and the boy's mind began to drift away into dreams.

It was dark, silent, and yet warm; almost as if Michael held someone against his chest. The boy turned his gaze downward and saw, to his surprise, a small, white and blue glowing humanoid. The top of its head reached the teen's sternum, and from that head long flowing hair trailed down the small figure to the back of its knees. This assumed female was held tight to Michael, but not by him. She was in fact the one that held him to her.

The ephemeral girl looked up at Michael, "I can hear mother. She's inside you, giving you strength. She protects you, cares for you like you were her own. I guess that makes you my big brother, huh?"

Wait, what? Brother? But I don't have a sister. I don't even have a sibling. What's with this girl?

Michael didn't move a muscle, "I think you're mistaken. I don't have anything 'inside' me except my organs. Having another person inside me is kind of impossible, don't you think?"

The girl shook her head, "Of course not literally, silly! It's her spirit. Her power. Her life will," she put a hand on Michael's chest "She's protecting you."

Michael frowned, "From what?"

But the girl began to fade.

"Wait, from what? What's coming after me!"

But she was gone.

Michael shot forward from his place, sweating and panting heavily. He took in his surroundings, and realized that he was no longer in the training room; he now lay in his own bed.

He strained to push himself to stand at the edge of his bed, whatever that happened clearly draining much energy from him. He finally managed to balance himself on his own legs, but they were shaky. The boy took a few steps forward but dropped to his knees, putting his hands out in front of him to keep the floor from his face. He noticed, however, markings on his hands that did not exist previously.

On his left was an image of his shield, possessing the exact same features. On his right was the spitting image of his hammer, down to the last detail.

Michael must've made a loud noise from his fall, because a very concerned Chromie came rushing into the room. She went up to Michael and cupped his head in her tiny hands, "Are you okay?"

The boy gazed into Chromie's emerald eyes. They reflected worry, fear, concern, and every other possible synonym for each. Michael gave her an assuring smile, "I'm fine, Chromie. Just a bit weak is all. If I get moving around I'll be back in action in no time."

Chromie's eyes never changed their state, but she managed a small smile to return to Michael. She wrapped her short arms around his neck, embracing him warmly, "I'm so glad you're awake," Chromie said, beginning to sob. "You had me really scared."

Michael wrapped an arm around Chromie's body, returning her embrace for a short time. He then put his hand on her shoulder, gently pushing her from himself, "How long was I out?"

"At least twenty-four hours. The best possible outcome."

The teen raised a brow in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Chromie wiped some of the tears from her face, "I tried to look into the future, but my time-seeing abilities as a Bronze dragon are almost useless here. They can produce hundreds, even thousands of outcomes from an event. Only one is the true outcome but there's no way to tell, so I usually don't do it. A twenty-four hour coma was the best outcome for you. But in one of them..."

"Let me guess: I died."

The Bronze shook her head, "No. You can't die here, so it's even worse; you never woke up."

Michael frowned, "Look, there's no sense fussing over what could have been. I'm awake now, so that's all that matters right?"

Chromie nodded her head as she wiped more tears from her face. Michael got up to one knee and embraced her once more in reassurance.

The boy pulled away from her and met her emerald gaze once again, "Chen and Li Li are throwing a party for me next week. Want to go?"

For the first time since she came into Michael's room, Chromie's eyes abandoned the fear and worry, replacing it with a childish glee that would rival Li Li's, "Yes, of course! I would love to!"

Michael smiled, "Good! Go ahead and tell the rest of the Council they're invited and that I'm awake."

Chromie saluted and then dashed out of the room. Michael stood up, completely stable on his feet now. He chuckled to himself, "She's adorable."


	9. Chapter 9

The day of the party was upon him. Michael layed in comfortable confines of his bed, not feeling inclined to get up despite what was happening today. He was on his side facing the wall his bed was against, and then turned onto his back. He was surprised to find glowing green eyes looking down at him.

Michael widened his eyes and flailed his arms at the intruder in a panic. They backed off immediately and rather startled, and Michael flung the bedsheets off of himself and got out of his bed. He stood in his typical battle stance whenever he used his weapons; left arm horizontally in front of himself, his right arm to his side bent with his hand at his waist, and legs spread in a wide base to make knocking him over difficult.

The boy saw the intruder fully now; a woman in crimson red leather that laid her thighs bare, and long, flowing, soft golden hair that was pulled back through a hole in her drawn hood.

"Valeera? What the hell were you doing?" Michael said in hushed tones. He looked out of his window, observing a would-be pitch black midnight sky, if it wasn't covered in brilliant stars. "What time is it, even?"

The assassin replied, "It's twelve o'clock in the morning. I wanted to show you something."

Michael squinted his eyes slightly, "But you figured that watching me sleep would do?" he asked accusingly.

Valeera blushed but, due to the darkness, Michael couldn't see it. Not entirely, anyway. "You just… looked really peaceful. I've never seen anyone sleep with the serenity you do."

The teen raised a brow, "So you've watched everyone else sleep, too?"

Valeera scratched her cheek, "Well, not everyone. Just most of the other Heroes."

Michael sighed and shook his head, "Unbelievable," he muttered. "Well what was it you wanted to show me?"

"Something awesome. Come on!"

Valeera slipped her hand into Michael's and guided him along. They moved swiftly and silently through the long, seemingly twisting hallways of the HQ until they came upon the library. The library was closed at this time, and no one was there, but Valeera just lockpicked her way in. They entered, not daring to make a sound, and closed the door behind them.

Michael whispered just loud enough for Valeera to hear him, "What are we doing here?"

The former gladiator pointed up, and Michael's gaze followed. The entire roof of the library was a skylight, and the view from where they stood was breathtaking. Bright, shining white stars all across the void-like sky, with a full moon shining as brilliantly in the center.

"I don't know why, but when I saw the moon I thought of the pommel on your hammer and, by extension, you." Valeera stated, still staring at the moon. "I often compare the way things look to weapons. I've spent so much time with and around them that I can't help but do it."

Michael looked back down at Valeera, who was still looking towards the sky. The moonlight danced across her elegant elven features, making her appear more pale and more beautiful than she already was. These thoughts couldn't help but cross the teen's mind, but something else distracted him from them.

Behind the assassin stood a short, glowing white-blue figure. The figure turned and began to disappear into the towering bookshelves, but Michael pursued the unannounced guest. Valeera noticed the boy's movement, and began to follow.

"Where are you going?" She inquired.

Not breaking pace, Michael replied, "I saw someone I think I recognized. Do you know of anyone who would be here besides us?"

"No, and the fact that I didn't sense them unnerves me."

The pair turned the corner of another bookshelf, but their quarry was gone. Michael looked around himself, checking other paths the figure may have gone, but found nothing.

"Damn!" Michael leaned against the end of the titanic bookshelf and slumped down to the ground. He leaned his head back against the shelf and let out a heavy sigh, resting both of his hands on his knees.

When Valeera gazed down at him, she noticed the markings on the backs of his hands previously unseen in the darkness of Michael's room.

"Did you get tattoos?" Valeera inquired.

"What?" Michael replied. His features first displayed confusion, but then they morphed into realization, "No. These marks appeared after I went into that short coma last week. That coma is also why I was chasing after that figure; it looked exactly like the girl I saw in a vision I had while I was out."

Valeera raised a brow, "A girl? You dreamt about a girl while you were asleep?"

"It's not really what you're thinking," Michael defended. "Like I said, it was more of a vision than a dream but, yes, I saw a girl while I was out. She claimed that I was her brother, and that her mother was inside me, but I've never had a sibling. I've been an only child all my life."

"She said her mother was inside you? Like a spirit?"

"Something like that," the teen confirmed. "The girl said that her mother was protecting me, caring for me, and giving me strength. I'm not quite sure why, but she seemed to think that meant I was her brother. Like I was marked or something. I've been thinking about it ever since it happened."

Valeera furrowed her brow in thought, taking a similar position to Michael on an adjacent bookshelf. She gazed straight ahead, "Did Artanis, or any of the other council members for that matter, tell you about what happened before you went into a coma?"

Michael turned his head to look at her, "No. As far as I know, I just fell asleep, had my weird vision, and woke up twenty-four hours later."

"Artanis said you began to _glow_. You glowed with a bright, white-blue aura for the entire time you were asleep. They guessed you stopped whenever you woke up."

With that, the truth suddenly hit Michael in the face; Valeera was watching him to see if he glowed again, and even though Valeera came up with a cover story Michael still somewhat believed it due to her apparent embarrassment.

Deciding to keep his revelation silent, Michael responded calmly to Valeera's news, "I kind of suspected something might have been up. It seems like _something_ is always happening to me whether I'm conscious or not."

Valeera chuckled. It was a sound that was a bit unexpected by Michael, but not disliked. The boy smirked and leaned his head back against the bookshelf and closed his eyes, heeding the call of sleep.

Michael again met darkness, but the familiar warmth did not accompany it this time. Instead, the ephemeral girl stood about two meters' distance from him, smiling.

She giggled, "It looks like I won! You're gonna have to try harder than that. Next time, just outright chase me! It's more fun that way."

"I didn't realize we were playing a game," Michael defended. He then made a realization, "You're not putting me in another coma right now, are you?"

The girl shook her head, "No. I have it down this time. I'm not bound to time quite like you are, so I was a bit careless the first time I came to you. I've fixed it now, though. Only a few of hours have passed in your reality by now."

That statement slightly startled Michael, "So you're still passing time kind of fast. Well, I'm not going to be here for too much longer, since I'll have to wake up soon. What's your name? I'm Michael Davidson."

"Xinyla," the girl said with a bow. "My mother's name is Xaanu, and my father's is Salandrian. They're the Speakers."

Michael's eyes widened in shock and his mouth gaped, "Wait, so I really have a Speaker inside of me? And you too?"

But Xinyla began to fade again.

"Xinyla!"

But she was gone.

Michael shot up from his place, which he found was his bed again, and leapt from it. He dashed out the door, a stark contrast to the first time this occurred, and almost collided directly into Medivh and Valeera. He stood there panting for a few moments.

The crimson assassin had grabbed Michael's shoulders, "Calm down, you're okay. You _are_ okay, aren't you?"

The boy nodded, and turned his gaze to Medivh, "I have something I think you're going to want to hear."

Azeroth's Guardian raised a brow, "Well then, let's hear it."

Michael looked down towards his feet and began to choose his words. He chose against it, however, deciding that the Guardian didn't need to know until he needed to know. He turned back to Medivh, "Actually, can it wait until after the party? Speaking of which, what time is it right now?"

Medivh slipped the hand that did not wield Atiesh into his cloak, retrieving a small pocket watch, "Twelve forty-three. The party is in for hours and seventeen minutes. I have to admit, I was a bit surprised to find your invitation was extended to me."

"Well, forgive and forget, right?" Michael countered.

"If you say so," I the Guardian replied. "I must be going now. Chromie will be delighted to hear you have awakened. Good day."

The Guardian turned and left his counterparts where they stood. Valeera had rotated to watch him leave, and when the Guardian was out of earshot she turned back to Michael.

"Why did you not tell him about your spectral 'sister'?" Valeera inquired.

"Because I don't trust him," Michael replied. "Not yet, anyways."

"Why not? He's the one who started the Council in the first place, and he handpicked the members."

"That's what concerns me," Michael countered. "He was the first to fill the void of power when it became evident. And if I'm not mistaken, the Speakers held the highest power before they went silent. Am I wrong?"

Valeera said nothing for a few moments, assessing what Michael had. Her magical eyes were focused on the floor, but she rose them to meet Michael's, "He may not be the most forthcoming in the reasons for his actions, but he's trustworthy. Hell, _Uther_ joined the Council at Medivh's request, and that was only _after_ he meditated on it. When you know Uther as long as any of us Heroes have, you know that he doesn't make any decision lightly. Heh," the assassin chuckled at her unintended pun.

Michael softly sighed and conceded to Valeera's reasoning for the moment, "Fine, I'll go along with him for now. But only because I trust you. Both you and Chromie have been with me since the beginning, and I trust you guys."

"Well, she has. I didn't show up until later."

The teen rolled his eyes, "Okay, I met you like literally ten minutes later. It wasn't that long after I showed up."

Valeera laughed at his rough counter and conceded, "Okay, fair enough."

There was a short, almost unnoticeable, silence between the pair. Michael renewed the dialogue between them, "You're gonna attend the party right?"

"Yeah," Valeera replied. "And almost very other Hero. Chen invited all of the more… tasteful ones to the party. That's more than half of the Hero Roster."

"Either I'm a popular subject among the Heroes, or everyone loves Chen's parties." Michael hypothesized with some humor.

"Both, actually," Valeera confirmed. "You've been a popular subject among the Heroes ever since you announced that you were going through the trials. For the past month you've dominated almost every breakfast, lunch, and dinner conversation subject. That's also why one of the Heroes not part of the council has volunteered to take over your next level of training."

"Hopefully I won't have to give anyone my autograph," Michael sarcastically stated.

Valeera chuckled at the boy's statement, "If anyone does want it, it'll probably be Li Li."

Michael chuckled this time, "Funny thing is you're probably right. Anyways, let's go ahead and get ourselves over to Chen's. I want to see what he'll have done with the place."

The teen turned to leave, and the assassin followed behind him. "Lead the way," Valeera said with a mock bow and wave of the hand.

 **Author's note: Here's something that I should have been doing since chapter one, but better late than never, right? This one's just a short tidbit and a thank you.**

 **First, I want to thank you again, Consort, for all of the reviews and help you've given me, getting me to finally read Stormclouds, and allowing me to make a suggestion for Important moments.**

 **Thank you as well to the others that have been reading this. It's comforting to know that, even though it's my first work, this is still getting looked at.**

 **Now the tidbit: I'm trying to make these chapters longer as I keep going, but as such it will take longer for them to come out as time goes on. I don't really want them to get over 5000 words, but I'm a fair ways away from that threshold. Even still, please try to bear with me.**

 **Now, onwards!**


	10. Chapter 10

"That's…" Michael drew out, "a lot of Heroes."

The teen had been hiding out in the back of Chen's brewery for about half an hour before the party was supposed to begin. Now, ten minutes before it would begin, he cracked open the door that led to the main area of the brewery to take a look at those who had gathered. It was about as much as Valeera had said to him earlier.

Jaina had been in the back with Michael, trying to help him gain his composure. There wasn't much time left before he would have to go out and introduce himself to the couple dozen, probably more, Heroes that stood, sat, and floated around the main area.

"They're all nice," Jaina reassured Michael. "They won't make a spectacle of you if you're not what they expected. Chen made sure to invite only the more respectful ones. Tyrande, Muradin, Thrall, Johanna, the Vikings, and others along with the Council. Although a few members of the council are… less than respectful, they know you. They've seen you training with Artanis this past month."

"I still probably have the greatest case of stomach butterflies in the history of the universe. I'm good at speaking, but being put on the spot like this is nerve wrecking."

The boy closed the door and put his back against it with a thump. He slid down until he sat in a half fetal position. "What should I say? I don't have anything prepared."

Jaina scratched the back of her head for a moment before answering, "Don't think about it too hard, Michael. Just… be natural. Maybe try some light humor? If nothing else, at least try to be confident."

Michael sighed so heavily it was almost a groan of frustration, "This is awful! I have nothing but minutes between me and certain embarrassment."

And so they waited in complete silence. Silence between _them_ , at least. There was naught but chatter coming from the other side of the door. The words that were spoke were unable to be determined by Michael, but he suspected they likely spoke about him.

From a door further in, Chen came to check on Michael, "Are you Okay Michael? You don't look very thrilled."

Michael responded with sarcasm unable to be missed by even the most oblivious individual, "Oh really? What tipped you off?"

"I'm sorry," Chen apologized. "The speech couldn't be avoided. We can't very well have guests show up to a party and not know anything about who it's for!"

The teen grunted, pushing himself to standing position, "Whatever happens, happens now. No sense delaying the inevitable. Oh, and Chen," the brewmaster raised a brow, "put a glass of water on the bar for me."

The brewmaster nodded and returned through the door he came. He proceeded down a short hallway and turned left through another door, appearing behind the bar. The gathering of guests turned towards him, quieting themselves to hear what he would have to say.

"My dear friends," Chen began, "I have invited you all here tonight so that we may celebrate the the step a dear friend of mine has taken, and a step he will be taking…"

Michael listened from behind his door waiting for his cue. Chen was really building him up, but Michael thought that was a mistake. There was nothing special about him, not compared to the other Heroes.

"So," Chen was finishing, "why don't you meet him yourselves?" The brewmaster gestured towards the door that the teen hid behind.

"That's your cue!" Jaina said encouragingly. "Go!"

The mage nudged Michael towards the door, at which he hesitantly stood for a moment before gathering himself. Standing up straight and tall, he pushed out into the most intimidating sight he would ever see.

More Heroes than he could count stood before him, many with drinks already in hand. Those who were not of the Storm Council gave him skeptical looks and muttered among themselves. Michael let his gaze hover over them for a few moments before settling his eyes on a trio of much familiar figures: Chromie, Valeera, and Li Li.

They nodded to Michael, and wave of calm rushed through him then. He steeled himself, nodded back, then turned to the bar. He approached it, jumped atop it, and turned back to face the plethora of Heroes. Somehow, it was less intimidating from up there.

Without wavering, he spoke, "Chen builds me up quite a bit. I'm hardly as magnificent as he seems to think, but I am trying to get to that point. I honestly think he just likes giving speeches."

There was a small chuckle from the crowd, and reassuring smiles from Michael's friends.

The teen continued, "In the short time that I've been here, I've seen things that I didn't believe existed even in the ever expanding universe. I'm glad that I was proven wrong. This place, and its people," Michael gestured his arm to encompass the Heroes before him, "are the most diverse, most profound, and the most hospitable I've ever seen." There was a 'hear hear' from a few of the Heroes.

Michael looked down solemnly. "I wish I could say the same about my world. There are individuals and small groups that are like you and yours, but on the grand scale there's not very much tolerance and hospitality."

The boy looked back up with determined eyes and a small smile, "That's why I'm not going to make tonight about me. I was never going to do that in the first place. Tonight may be for me, but it's about all of you. So…" Michael leaned down and retrieved his cup of water, "a toast. To the Heroes of the Storm!"

Almost unanimously and in near perfect synchronization, the gathering of Heroes unexpectedly cheered and applauded. Michael abruptly and heavily exhaled and his entire body relaxed. He downed his entire glass of water as the rest of the Heroes who had drinks did the same.

Michael hopped down from the bar and placed his empty glass on it. He turned to go find his friends merged somewhere in the crowd when an unexpected encounter occurred.

"Hello, new friend!" an unknown creature said. "You are strange human. You make your party for other friends? You are nice friend!"

"I'm nothing special yet, I don't want to play myself up. Besides, Chen has already done that enough for me," Michael paused for a moment. "What's your name by the way?"

The creature somersaulted in the air elegantly before answering, "My name is Brightwing, friend! I already know your name, is that okay friend?"

"Of course it is, It's one less introduction I have to make. Easy as they are, they're annoying to do over and over again."

Brightwing fluttered away, and after the encounter Chromie, Valeera, and Li Li made their way over to Michael. The assassin put a hand on Michael's shoulder, "You have quite the way with words. Thank you for what you said."

"Don't mention it," Michael reassured. "I wouldn't be here without all of you. I should really be the one thanking all of you. So thanks for sticking with me this far."

Chromie chirped up, "I want to see you grow into something you're proud of, and a Hero worthy of recognition. You're well on your way to that, and that makes me happy." The 'gnome' gave Michael a heartwarming smile.

However, instead of filling Michael with pride, this act made his stomach twist and his features drop into a forlorn expression. Chromie's own features now displayed concern, "What's wrong? Did I say something?"

Michael closed his eyes and shook his head, forcing a small smile, "No. it's just that… you reminded me of one of my friends back home." Michael paused for a moment and looked to the rest of the party's guests. "I should probably meet everyone. After all, I don't know how long I'm going to be here."

The teen broke away from the trio and disappeared into the crowd of Heroes. Li Li was the first to react. "I'll go help him meet everyone," was all she said before she went to find Michael. Valeera and Chromie looked at each other, concern plastered on their faces. "Do you think I should apologize?" Chromie inquired. "He seemed to be really hurt."

"I don't think you should worry about it too much," the assassin responded. "He probably just got hit with homesickness really hard. I mean no one he knows is here, in the Nexus that is, and that's probably how it's going to stay as far as we know."

Chromie looked back to the crowd in which the teen disappeared, "I hate that I did that to him. I hope I didn't bring him too much pain."

 **Author's note: I sincerely apologize for the incredibly long wait for this chapter. It wasn't meant to be a long chapter, but I've been incredibly focused on school and it had slipped my mind to work on this. However, chapter updates should become semi normal; about once a week. I never want to have that long of a break again unless I've finished a fic and am deciding on what to write next. If you're reading this, then thank you so much for sticking with me!**

 **P.S. Consort, I hope I wrote Brightwing well. If you're still here, could you give me a few pointers? Thanks!**


	11. Chapter 11

"Watch out Michael!"

"Huh?"

The teen's eyes widened in shock as he saw a soccer ball straight at his face. He sidestepped it just in time to not take the full force of it but it still clipped the left side of his face. Michael winced and sharply pulled air through his teeth as he lifted his palm to the impact area.

"Oww…"

A blonde headed girl rushed to him and put her hand on the one Michael held his face with. He inhaled sharply once more and pulled away.

"Why weren't you paying attention? I thought you were refereeing for us!"

"Sorry Zoey, I just got distracted."

The girl furrowed her brow in annoyance, "You've always been distracted by something or daydreaming for the past month! Can't you focus for at least a little bit? Is that too much to ask?"

Michael looked down at the ground with sorrowful eyes, "I probably should've told you, but I was hanging out with you today to distract myself from something that's been bothering me. You know how my parents are in the military, right?"

Zoey's expression softened as she nodded her head, "Yeah. Has something happened?"

"More like something hasn't happened. My parents… never sent their letter last month. They never miss their letter, and it's had me extremely concerned."

The recently silent third party voiced himself, "It's likely that they've been preoccupied with other things. Military life isn't sunshine and rainbows. You should know that better than most."

Michael glared at him, "Of course I know that, Rook. You also know I was born on a foreign military base, and not long after my birth that very base was assaulted. I knew the sounds of AK-47's like the back of my hand by the time I was five, and knew how to use a gun before ten. I don't need to be reminded of what I already know."

"He's just trying to help you," Zoey stated. "That's all we've ever done since we became friends with you."

The boy calmed himself and let out a sigh, "I know. I'm sorry, I just can't help but worry. They're all the family I've got, and they have the most dangerous job in the world."

Zoey gave him a warm smile, "You're strong, Michael. Stronger than both me and Rook. No matter what happens you'll get through it, and we'll be right next to you every step of the way."

Michael placed a hand on top of the girl's head, "Thank you," he looked over to Rook, "both of you. I wouldn't have it any other way."

"No problem," Rook replied. "Now, if we're done with all of this sappiness, we have a game to finish. It's four to three, my favor."

"Like hell it is!" Zoey exclaimed. "It's four to three MY favor!"

"It's four to four then," Michael stated. "Now, let's get back to it."

 _Hey Michael!_

What?

As if ripped through time, Michael was back at the Nexus HQ cafeteria sitting across from Li Li. It was pretty much empty except for the pair and a janitorial robot.

"Are you even paying attention? I'm concerned here!"

Michael's gaze settled on Li Li for a moment and then back down to the table. He took in his surroundings and settled on Li Li once more, "I'm sorry. It's just that… Chromie looks so much like one of my friends back home. With all the training, I was beginning to become numb to the homesickness. But after seeing Chromie today… I don't know that I'll ever get over it."

Li Li sighed, "You must really care about that girl if it's hurting you this much."

"I do. It's also dawning on me that it's already been a month and some change since my arrival here. I wonder how worried my friends are if they're worried at all."

Li Li widened her eyes and then furrowed her brow in frustration, "Of course they're worried about you! Friends of guys like you are likely to follow you into hell and back without question, so don't think for a second that they aren't worried about you!"

Michael gave the pandaren a confused look, "Guys like me…?"

The girl exhaled in annoyance, "Yes, guys like you. The ones who are good hearted to a fault and treat friends like family. The ones who carry the weight world on their shoulders and never ask for help out of fear that they'll inconvenience or even hurt others. I haven't known you that long, but I see all of these traits in you. Think about how much you care for your friends, and that's exactly how much they care for you!"

"If that's what you believe, then you know why you're acting this way, and that there's more to it than just homesickness."

Li Li paused for a moment, looking down. She then looked back up at Michael in realization.

The boy continued, "I made a mistake caring so much for you. An unforgivable mistake. In becoming friends with you, Chromie, and the others, I've done us all a disservice. I know that I'll have to leave one day after I've found a way home. My friends have no idea where I am or what's happened, and I'm struggling to remind myself of that with the more time I spend here. When it's time for me to leave, it will hurt not only me, but you as well. It'll hurt everyone who cares about me. For that, I'm sorry. I always will be."

A near crippling silence hung in the air, suffocating words from the mouths of both youths. After a small amount of time passed, however, Li Li made a sound. Michael looked up to find the girl crying. He wanted to speak, but her tears only served to drown whatever words that would have came.

"Idiot."

Michael flinched, "What?"

"I said you're an idiot!" Li Li raised her face to let her reddened eyes meet Michael's wide ones, "You think I could blame you for that? You think I care about that? How can you be so insightful, but not see that doesn't matter? It's not about what happens in the future, it's about what you do now! I don't care if you have to leave us someday! I only care that you're here, right now, with us. I don't know how you do it, but you invoke such strong feelings out of people. Feelings of loyalty. Of friendship. You're the fastest friend I've ever made and come to care about like this. Don't you dare think that I would be mad at you for a fate you can't control!"

"That makes three of us then, I think."

The pair turned to see the owner of the unannounced voice; a crimson assassin, and next to her a blonde 'gnome.'

"You didn't ask for this," the assassin continued. "The only one that we all can blame is whoever pulled you into the Nexus. I'm aware of your goal to find that very being, the entire council is. It's the council's goal to find what silenced the Speakers, and we believe that the answers to both your and the council's questions are related. That notion has probably already crossed your mind."

"Please tell me that this was the first conclusion that you came up with and you're not just now realizing this," Michael sarcastically replied.

"Of course it was the first thing we thought of," Valeera confirmed. "But what we haven't found is the answer. It's the council's theory that your training to become a Hero will, over time, answer the questions we have. If you hadn't chosen to train to become a Hero on your own, we likely would have tried to train you anyway. Maybe not make you a Hero, but try to unlock whatever power you displayed at your first meeting with the council."

A light chuckle escaped the young boy's lips, "Nice to see our goals align for now. I am, however, sorry for the worry I seem to have caused. I want to put any worry you have to rest, so listen to me; there will never be any reason you should worry about me. I can work through anything on my own. I've done it almost my entire life, so there's no reason I can't do it now." The boy removed himself from the table's connected bench and stood upright, "I refuse to be a hindrance to any of you. I can't live like that. I won't live like that. So don't any of you dare to worry about me. I'll be fine. I always have been, and I always will be."

 **Alright, I've got no excuse. The wait for this one was just out of my neglect to write this chapter. After the last one, I actually didn't know where I wanted to go with this story, so I put it on the back burner. I apologize again for not being consistent. I won't make another promise for a schedule, I just can't with school coming up next week, but I will promise that I will continue writing this fiction until it's finished. So, thanks for reading! I hope you're looking forward to the next chapter.**


	12. Chapter 12

"Again!" a gruff voice said. "You might be able to take a hit well, but with that hammer, you should be hurting me far more than you are!"

The teen groaned in frustration. Varian was right. Artanis sure taught him a lot about defense, but hardly ever about offense. The Alliance king was an encyclopedia of knowledge about melee arms, and to Michael his word was law.

The teen took a deep breath and steadied himself for yet another go at Varian. It also didn't help that he'd heard Varian's story about how a newly arrived pandaren monk to Stormwind knocked Varian on his ass within seconds of the King challenging them. It frustrated him, and he hated the idea of someone using their fists and feet fighting better than someone with an actual weapon.

And that's exactly what he focused on.

The teen charged at the Alliance king with an unexpected ferocity. Varian gave a curious look as Michael came closer to him, ready to parry the boy's blow. However, as he raised Shalamayne he realized something; Michael's eyes were glowing.

They shone with the primary Nexus blue-purple hue with tiny, flickering sparks of lightning extending out from them. Pitch black circles seemed to shiver in the center of his globes. Michael leapt high into the air, with a forceful 'boom' emanating from his ascension point. His hammer illuminated the same mix of energy that his eyes shone with, and with a long shout the teen brought it down to bear upon Varian.

As Michael's weapon collided with Shalamayne, a thunderous crash blasted out from the contact launching Varian into the Box's energy wall. Likewise, Michael was launched into the opposite wall, the air knocked out of him. Both warriors struggled to their feet, breathing heavily.

"That was… certainly better… than your last attempt," Varian exhaled. "Perhaps we better… rest for a spell."

"Yeah. That's a good idea," Michael groaned. "End session!"

The pair were teleported out of the Box and onto a pad just outside of it. They made their way to a nearby bench and plopped themselves onto it. Varian gave a hearty laugh.

"I haven't felt something like that in years. How did you do that? I don't recall ever seeing you use a skill like that before."

"I don't know. It just kind of happened. I just got frustrated and I felt this surge of power kind of rush through me. I guess that was the result."

Varian laughed quite heartily, "Indeed. Rage is a very efficient conduit to summon power through, but it's unpredictable. I know that sounds ironic coming from me, but it's still true nevertheless."

"I know. I'm not keen on the idea that I have to throw a tantrum every time I want to use my power." Michael gave a small chuckle, "It's not very practical."

 _I can help you with that._

Michael looked towards the High King, "What?"

Varian looked at Michael with a confused look, "I didn't say anything."

"Yeah, I didn't think so."

The teen stood up and looked around, trying to identify the source of the mysterious voice. It was strong but feminine; the voice of a mature woman, modified by an elegant reverberation.

"Are you okay, son?" the warrior king inquired.

"I'm fine, I think." Michael's gaze drifted towards the floor for a moment and then shot back to Varian, "Did you not hear that voice?"

"No, not a thing. Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine. I just need some rest, I think. I'm gonna go back to my room. I'm exhausted."

Michael put up his weapons, replaced his armor with his clothes, and made his way out of the training room to begin his fatigued journey to his dorm. He found his way into the lobby area and turned to face the elevator that would lead him to his much desired seclusion. Suddenly and seemingly from nowhere, a massive hand grabbed the boy's body and brought him to face a giant, rotted face.

Michael grunted and started struggling against the monstrous grip, "Put me down asshole. I'm not in the mood for any shenanigans."

A deep chortle escaped from the giant's gut as he walked around the lobby, "Stitches been watching you. Thinks you make fun playtime friend. So let's play!"

The abomination drew his arm back and hurled Michael across the room, his body crashing against the elevator door. In his current state, he barely had the energy to brace himself on one knee, let alone actually fight Stitches.

The undead behemoth stomped his way towards Michael, pulling his cleaver out from his own shoulder. Stitches raised the blade above his head and brought it down the bear on the teen. All Michael could do was weakly raise his own arm in a futile attempt to protect himself. As the cleaver was falling, Michael saw a flash of light and, slamming his eyes shut, braced his body for the blow. All he heard was a loud clash of metal, and felt a heavy force on his arm.

The teen lifted his head to see what went wrong. To his amazement, his shield had found its way back onto his arm and stood in the way of Stitches' cleaver.

Michael gave the monster an uncharacteristically maniacal grin, and with a deep battle cry used as much energy as he could muster to shove the abomination back. To the surprise of both, Stitches stumbled backwards for a few heavy steps and fell with a loud boom.

The teen slammed his free fist into the elevator button as the behemoth struggled to get to his feet. Michael did not let down his guard, keeping his shield up and his stance based. Stitches managed to lift himself up to a sitting position, and in response Michael looked back at the still unopened elevator, back to Stitches, and swapped his stance to have his shield arm behind him.

After a couple of calculations, and mostly a good gut feeling, Michael hurled his shield at the abomination's face, slamming him back down to the floor and leaving him stunned.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the elevator opened and Michael backpedaled inside. He frantically mashed the floor button where his dorm resided, and did the same to the 'close door' button. After the doors slowly closed themselves, the teen breathed a sigh of exhaustion and relief and braced himself against the elevator door.

After a few more heavy breaths, a chilling voice came from behind him, "What is the problem?"

Michael froze immediately and remained that way for a few moments. With reluctance, he slowly turned around to face the owner of the voice.

Standing there motionless was Arthas the Lich King, his ice blue orbs staring into the very soul of Michael, and the teen could feel it.

"Well?" the Lich King asked again.

Michael lightly shook his head and regained his composure, meeting Arthas' gaze once again, "Close shave, that's all." The teen then rested his back on the wall adjacent to Arthas and closed his eyes, releasing yet another heavy sigh.

"I am impressed that his throw did not kill you outright."

Michael's eyes shot open and returned to the Lich King, "How do you know that? You were in here the whole time, weren't you?"

"I see much more than you know." The elevator opened with a 'ding,' "Now go. It is your stop."

The boy nodded uneasily and made his way out of the elevator and quickly traveled to his room. When he arrived inside he securely closed and locked the door and then proceeded to throw himself onto his bed. His entire body relaxed immediately and he nearly passed out there and then. However, he had just enough stamina left to keep his head above water.

 _You are going to have to go toe-to-toe against Stitches and other Warrior-class Heroes, you know. If this is all you can muster, you will never make it._

"I was exhausted and caught off guard. That's hardly a fair comparison to a real fight in the tournament."

 _The tournament is not the only place where you will have to fight. The attack on you here is proof enough of that._

Michael sat upright, "Who even are you? Last time I checked, my mom didn't get pulled in here with me."

With a sudden swirling of light, a figure began to materialize in the center of his room. First a slender pair of legs, then a torso with noticeable curves. As the figure's head became apparent, long hair began to flow out and came to a halt just past the knees. Like the girl Michael saw in is sleep, this figure was enveloped entirely in a holy Nexus-blue light.

Exactly like Xinyla.

Michael stood there, stunned and enamored by the elegance of this figure. After a few moments of silence, the teen voiced his realization, "You're… Xaanu, aren't you?"

"Indeed. You've already met my daughter. She likes you quite a good bit, but don't think that makes you her brother. You'll have to earn that."

"Whether or not you see me as her brother doesn't matter to me. What does matter is the fact that the both of you are taking residence in MY body. I want you to tell me why; why am I here?"

Xaanu existed there silently, carefully choosing the words with which she would explain to Michael what exactly the bigger picture was.

"My husband, Salandrian, was attacked and taken by an unknown force. He told us to run, but I refused to leave his side. As a result, he sent both myself and our daughter spiraling across the cosmos and directly into your world. My daughter and I witnessed you fight that terrible boy in defense of your friends. That is why later that day, when you were alone, we took you back you the Nexus. You had shown the traits that my husband possessed, and so we chose you to be the one we would give our power to in order to help him. To help us. However, the process was disrupted by something we did not expect: you. More specifically, the strength of your spirit. It blocked us off from being able to communicate with you, which is why for the first month neither myself nor my daughter could speak to you. My daughter was the first to reach you because of who she is. She was not unlike the girl, and I believe that to be the reason she was able to slip through. However, the hold on both of us was weakened every time you fought whether it was sparring or otherwise. When you called upon that power against Varian today, the hold finally broke and I could speak to you. The power you wield is mine. I can help you master it."

Michael took all of this in. This wasn't just some freak occurrence, this was deliberate. This was a plan. However, one thing plagued Michael's mind, "Why, when you have the power you do, didn't you just turn back and help Salandrian yourself? You're as powerful as he is, right?"

Xaanu slowly shook her head, "No. When he sent us away, I had transferred a significant portion of my power to him so that he might have won that battle. By myself I have no chance. However, power is always stronger when focused into something. That is why I focused my power into you. Or, more accurately, I focused myself and my daughter into you. You are the weapon that I intended to use against that unknown enemy."

"Well…" Michael exhaled, "shit."

 **Author's Note: OwO What's this? You thought this fic was dead? Well THINK AGAIN! It ain't going anywhere until I'm done with it.**

 **And, as a treat for those sticking with me, I may or may not have something else in the works as a project to run parallel to this one. It's not a story that takes place in this SK's universe, it's just something else that I can work on if I'm feeling burnt out on this. So be looking out for that.**

 **Aside from that, there's nothing else. So I'll see you all later!**


	13. Chapter 13

Deafening silence. Complete nothingness. Absolute peace. Then there was a light, more beautiful and colorful than anything Michael had ever seen before. Then there was a voice that he secretly dreaded.

"Time to wake up sleepyhead!"

"Ughhh," the teen groaned. "Just five more minutes. Can't you give me that much?"

The voice was audibly annoyed by Michael's response, "Seriously? You do realize that you're supposed to become a Hero, right? And that I told you that you'd need my help to do so?"

"I don't need your lectures. I've gotten enough of those from my own parents, I don't need them from you too. That's not even to mention how god damn sore I am from that stupid abomination's interpretation of 'playtime.' He's like a child."

"Undead tend to be like that, and in a way it makes him especially dangerous. That is why you need to train as much as physically possible before your trials. In my entire existence, not one Nexian has been able to complete them although many have tried. It will not be easy."

Michael sighed out of frustration and winced out of pain, "You don't get it, do you? I've heard this before. I know. However, mortals like me are not as durable as you god-like beings or the Heroes. I need some damn rest. Please, leave me be for today. Once I'm feeling better, I'll get right back to it. For now, though, I'm in no shape to train."

The teen turned his back to Xaanu and fell almost instantly back to sleep. The Speaker could not force him to do anything in her current state, and so, with frustration, disappeared.

Meanwhile, Valeera was being very uninhibited at a closed Pandamonium. She was on her fifth pint of one of Chen's custom brews which, knowing Chen, was an incredibly strong drink. As she downed the last of it, she let out a refreshed sigh and a small giggle.

"Man, today's match was awesome! I've never been in that intense of a fight with Zeratul before. Thank the Light for the enhancements the Nexus gives our weapons, huh?"

To the rogue's left, Chromie was perched on the edge of the bar indulging herself in much more mild liquor and in a much smaller amount, "I guess so. I'm a bit worried about Michael right now. He's shown extraordinary progress in such a short amount of time, but I think he's overdoing it just a bit. I mean, yesterday he went to bed incredibly early and hasn't been out of his room since then. It's almost two o'clock and I haven't heard anything from him. Varian said that he used a very powerful skill and that could have just drained him, but my gut says that using his hidden powers wouldn't do that to him. I mean, he seemed just fine at the council meeting when he pulled up a barrier to block Medivh's magic. Why would it drain him now?"

Valeera, now very drunk, wrote off Chromie's concerns, "You're right, he's needed a break, but I don't think that it's something we really need to, _hic_ , worry about. It was a rather powerful skill compared to the barrier, but Varian's guess is as good as ours. I trust him completely though. If anything strange happened, I think, _hic_ , he, or Michael, would have told us about it."

The bronze dragon huffed and looked away from Valeera, "You mean you think Michael would tell _you_."

"What are you talking about?"

"He never personally told me about his visions of that ethereal girl. You told me for him."

"Well… I mean yeah, but I'm sure he would've, _hic_ , told you if I hadn't. You're taking this awfully personal."

At that moment Valeera had a scandalous thought, and her straight face twisted into a sly smile, "You're into him, aren't you?"

The rogue could visually see the impact her words had on the 'gnome', "W-What?!"

Valeera became even more smug, "Oh, admit it. When he went into that first, _hic_ , coma, you barely left his side, and after he woke up you, _hic_ , got really touchy feely with him. You've got the hots for him."

"Well… you do too!" the bronze shot back at the assassin.

Valeera doubled over laughing, "Oh, that's rich. You've got, _hic_ , nothing to challenge me with!"

"Except I do! You were the one who decided to watch him while he slept, and then when he woke up you took him stargazing! You were trying to be romantic with him!"

The rogue laughed again, though a bit more nervously than before, "I've told you, _hic_ , a dozen times; I was watching him to make sure he didn't, _hic_ , start glowing again. That's what happens when he goes under like that, remember?"

"Then how do you explain the stargazing?"

Valeera waved her hand dismissively, "Trust me, when you get woken up like that you, _hic_ , don't go back to sleep for a while. I didn't want him to think I was spying on him, so I, _hic_ , used my cover story."

The 'gnome' crossed her arms, "He went to sleep pretty fast after you got him into the library. If you'd just left him then he would've gone back to sleep, I bet."

The crimson assassin decided to redirect the subject as smoothly as she could manage in her drunken state, "You know what, Chromie? You really should, _hic_ , learn to just accept your feelings…"

At that moment Valeera blacked out and tumbled to the floor. Chromie just sighed in disappointment, "You should, too."

The bronze then hopped of the bar and proceeded to Hearth both Valeera and herself back to Valeera's room in the HQ. Chromie used her powers to lift the assassin onto her bed, and then sat herself on a wool-filled bean bag and slowly drifted into a relaxed sleep.

 **Author's Note: Okay, yes, this is very much just a filler chapter that I wrote while I decide on the final details of the next chapter. I'm not going to spoil it for you, but I will say this: It's going to get much more intense. I know exactly how I want to end this story, and I'm going to write every chapter beyond this one with that ending in mind. Now, it's going to take a bit to get to that ending, of course, but I want you guys to know that I have a plan now. Let's get to it!**


	14. Chapter 14

This was it. All he had to do was knock on that door, and he would be on his way to attempting the trials. He felt inadequate; not fast enough, not strong enough, and not skilled enough. He did not feel prepared in the slightest, and yet he knew this was as prepared as he would get. Over the past two and a half months he had learned much from Varian and Artanis; how to move enemies, keep himself between his allies and danger, and how to pummel the living hell out of any foe he may come across. He managed to keep Stitches at bay while in an incredibly weakened state, and before all of that he managed to block a spell from Medivh himself. Now, he had to go through that very man to get admission to attempt the trials.

A deep breath, and he knocked.

"Enter."

The boy pushed the door open. At the opposite end of the room sat Medivh, hands folded under his chin, "Have a seat."

Michael did as told and settled himself into one of the mage's rather luxurious chairs. He was silent for only a moment before he leapt straight to the point of this meeting, "Medivh, I want to gain admission to participate in the trials. I feel that I've had as much preparation as I'm going to get, and I think this is the best time to start."

The Guardian simply nodded his head. He pushed his chair back and stood to walk to a locked chest in the corner of his office. He uttered an incantation and the box opened, allowing him to retrieve a paper from it. Medivh returned to his desk and handed the parchment to Michael, "This is the official form of approval to enter the trials. I filled it out the day you arrived, but there's one thing missing: your signature. You are the only one now who decides whether or not you enter the trials. You need simply sign, and I will take care of the rest."

The teen was shocked; he never expected Medivh to allow him to do it that easily. He'd thought for sure that he'd have to argue for it. His eyes skimmed over the paper until it found the line where he'd put his signature, "This is really it? No 'you're not ready yet' cliche?"

Medivh smiled in amusement, "You've always been ready. I knew since the day we met that you'd be ready to face the trials. It was just a matter of making you believe you were ready. I was never going to force you into or hold you back from the trials. That just wouldn't be fair; to me and to you." The man motioned towards the paper, "Are you going to sign it?"

Michael turned his gaze back down to the form. He wanted this. He wanted this practically since day one, so why did Medivh's words make him uneasy? He seemed smug, condescending even, about the teen attempting the trials. Michael sat silent for a few more moments before shaking off his concerns as nervousness and paranoia. He retrieved a pen and signed his name beautifully in cursive. It was, admittedly, the only thing he could write in cursive.

"Thank you. I will make the necessary arrangements for your trials. I look forward to seeing all that you can do. Give preparations about one week's time, and continue honing your abilities. Don't want to be rusty by the time your trials come. Fight hard, Michael."

The teen nodded, "Thank you for not being another obstacle. Walking into this room was difficult enough, I don't even want to think about trying to convince you to allow me to into the trials. I'll see you later, Medivh."

Michael stood and made his way out of the Guardian's office. After he closed the door, it took everything he had to not burst out into cheer. This had gone far better than the boy had planned, and he was ecstatic. He sprinted through the now-familiar halls of the HQ on his way to inform his friends of the great news. However, as he drifted around a corner, someone was waiting for him there. The boy couldn't even register who it was, or the fact that anyone was there at all, before being slammed to the side and crashing through a window. He was close to the top of the building, about seventy floors up, and began to panic as he fell.

 _Don't lose focus!_ Xaanu's voice reverberated. _Remember how you're supposed to land from a fall,_ _and summon your shield to help brace yourself!_

"You really think that will work from up here?! I'm as good as dead!"

 _Just trust me and focus!_

With a loud yell of frustration, Michael followed the Speaker's instructions and adjusted himself into a skydiver's fall.

 _Summon your shield at the last second. Doing it_ _now would only ruin your descent._

"You think I don't know that?! You really haven't studied me enough if you think I'm that inept!"

Michael drew nearer and nearer to the cobblestoned ground. He had always been great at nailing down timings, but this kind of pressure really put his skills to the test.

 _Now!_

Before Michael hit, he brought his body to be perpendicular to the earth. As soon as he felt the ground beneath his feet, he summoned his shield and used to absorb the force of the impact as he tucked and rolled forward. It took several rotations before he stopped rolling and, as Michael began to stand up, he belatedly felt the impact of the fall through every bone in his body.

"Agh!" Michael doubled over in pain and collapsed to his knees. He was relatively unharmed aside from some cuts and would-be bruises, but he couldn't even manage to stand. The teen gazed up towards the floor he was knocked out of, and witnessed a large, looming figure in the space of the broken window. It leapt down and made a thunderous crash as its legs met the ground. Michael immediately recognized this creature, "Diablo?!"

The Lord of Terror nodded and began to pace menacingly, "So, you not only managed to get Li Li, but Medivh as well to believe that you're ready for the trials? Ha! No amount of safe sparring matches will get you anywhere near where you need to be to attempt those. Prove it to me, child; prove to me that you are worthy of being added to our ranks!"

Diablo then began to charge at Michael. The boy thought back to when Medivh threw that spell at him, and how, in reflex, he managed to somehow block it with powers of his own. This, to him, was no different. He focused on his hammer, and beckoned it to his hand. This was his first time trying to summon his hammer, and it would not come to him. He called for it again; nothing. Diablo was bearing on him now, claws aflame and ready to end him.

"Agh, fuck it!"

As the demon's claws were about to meet Michael's head, the teen rose and batted his strike off to the side with his shield, and brought it back around for a strike to Diablo's head. The blow knocked the demon off to the side a few meters and left him lightly stunned. Michael launched his shield and stunned Diablo again. As his shield fell to the ground, he charged towards the demon and neglected to pick up his discarded piece of equipment. Michael jumped into the air and used his fist, now glowing with the Speaker's power, to sucker punch Diablo's face, flattening him out on the ground. Michael retrieved his shield and commanded his hammer to come to him. To his immense pleasure, it finally appeared in his hand and he grinned at it sadistically. He returned his gaze to Diablo and began to approach him, hammer gripped tightly.

"Oh, I wish I had the chance to do this with Stitches."

When Michael reached the Lord of Terror, he placed a foot on him and proceeded to repeatedly bash the demon in the face with his hammer. He struck Diablo again and again and again, showing no signs of stopping. The demon's body finally began to disappear, causing Michael to take a step back in surprise and observe in curiosity. After the corpse was completely gone, the boy shook his head, clearing his mind of the state he was in and gathered his bearings. The Nexian citizens in the plaza looked upon Michael with a myriad of emotions; some of the adults were proud, others were shocked, and many of the children were afraid. Every last one of them remained silent.

Michael said nothing and began to make his way back into the HQ, but when he took the first step he immediately collapsed and passed out cold. He was in that realm of dreams again, looking upon not only Xinyla, but Xaanu as well this time. However, Xaanu did not seem particularly glad to be face-to-face with him, and Xinyla was hiding behind her mother.

"What's wrong?"

The Speaker scoffed, "'What's wrong'? Ha! That's a good one. You do understand that due to this arrangement we have, we experience the emotions you feel? What you just did impacted both myself and my daughter. She's terrified, and I'm far less than pleased. We were unable to act when you were in that… twisted state of mind. I had no clue that you could become like that, and I wasn't able to react fast enough to spare my daughter that experience."

Michael's heart dropped into an abyss as he turned his gaze over to Xinyla for a moment and then down to the nonexistent ground, "I… I had no idea. I'm sorry."

"Why didn't you tell us about this side of you? We could've at least been able to prepare ourselves for the worst of it."

"I…" Michael began. "I've only ever gotten like that twice. An adrenaline induced, extremely violent mania. I took measures, medical ones, to keep myself from getting like that. After coming here, I was obviously cut off from those measures and am now at risk of becoming like that at any time if my body is put under a certain type of stress."

"What kind of a sickness is that? Never in my existence have I heard of violent behavior being cured with medicine."

"It's not a sickness," Michael corrected. "It's a trait, and one that can be subdued with medicine, yes. It's one that hasn't been seen in my family for generations and was thought to have faded away. I guess I proved them wrong, unfortunately."

"How did you find out you had this trait? What happened the first time?"

The boy hesitated for a few moments before remembering that nightmare, "My friend Zoey was kidnapped at gunpoint. She was from a rich family, so I guess the guy thought that he could make a quick buck ransoming her back to her family. I didn't let that happen. I tracked him down and when I found him…" Michael paused, trying desperately to contain the rage he felt those three years ago, "he was in the middle of molesting her. The moment I saw him, all I could think about was how much I wanted him to die, how I was going to kill him, and how good it was going to feel. I shouted and rushed at him, paying no heed to the consequences of what could happen to me. He pulled out his pistol and shot me until he ran out of bullets, but I kept going. He tried to reload but I got to him first, ripping the gun from his hand and tackling him to the ground. I used that gun to turn his head into pulp. There was nothing left of his face to recognize. I went to Zoey and removed her bonds, and then just blacked out. I woke up in a hospital bed a week later with her sitting at my side, holding my hand."

"By the stars… What about the second time? You said this happened twice."

Not saying a word, Michael's face transformed into the epitome of absolute sadness. Xaanu knew exactly what that face was saying, "I'm sorry, nevermind."

Michael solemnly nodded, "Maybe another time. I think that it's time I woke up, don't you?"

"Of course. I hope you-"

"Michael!"

The Speaker and the teen turned to look at Xinyla, the one who so desperately cried out, "I, um… I want you to know that it's okay. I'm not mad at you, and I want you to know that I'll endure anything I have to to make sure you're able to succeed. That's a promise!"

The boy was left speechless. All he could do was give the girl a soft smile before he faded away from that realm of dreams. However, he did not wake up to a soft bed or a girl holding his hand.

He woke up to a binding of chains.

 **Author's Note: Well well, it looks like I can break 2k words without using text from my source material. I hope this chapter was worth the wait and gives you faith in my plan for this story. Something else I want to say is that Michael is not a self-insert. I'm kind of worried that's what people think he is, but he is a different person entirely than I am. He's not even based off of anyone I know, he's just a guy I made up. I will never be a character in any of my stories, just the narrator.**

 **Anyways, I hope you're all looking forward to the next chapter.**


	15. Chapter 15

Michael studied the chains that bound his wrists. They seemed enchanted, a shadow-like blue-green energy swirling about them. He observed his surroundings; an empty dark cavern save for one lantern that emitted the same color of light that the chains possessed. The would-be Hero observed his surroundings. He found himself in some sort of a cavern, light drops of water falling and making contact with the cold stone ground.

"You've got to be kidding me. I just got done with killing a demon, now this?"

The teen rose to his feet and began to pull the chains as hard as he could in an attempt to remove them from the wall they were fused into. He strained for a few more moments before a condescending voice reached his ears.

"Brute force will get you nowhere."

Michael snapped to face a massive skeletal creature that possessed chains orbiting around its body. It owned the same chilling aura that Arthas did, and the teen could feel that chill vividly.

"My name is Kel'thuzad, hand of the Lich King. Who are you?"

"You know damn well who I am if you have me chained in here like an animal. I don't need your bullshit questions."

"Apologies, poor choice of words. I mean to ask you where it is you come from. Can you answer me that?"

"Sure I can. Where I come from, we don't negotiate with fucking terrorists. So why don't you go ahead and take those chains of yours and shove them up your necromantic ass. I have no patience for faux interest from evil shitbags like you."

"Hmm… Fearless or arrogant, I wonder? No matter. The master will be here shortly."

"What?"

From within the darkness, Michael could hear the echo of heavy footsteps clad in metal. The chill of the room began to intensify. Kel hovered off to the side and allowed Arthas to stride right up to Michael.

"We meet again, boy."

"So it would seem," Michael spat with malice.

"First Stitches, and now Diablo? You're proving quite the difficult one to kill. You have no power here, however, and I will see if you can truly die here in the Nexus or if something will not let you."

Arthas proceeded to freeze Michael from the waist down, rendering him immobile. The Lich King then drew Frostmourne and Michael looked upon it with awe.

"Yes, gaze upon this blade. It will be the one to bring upon your first or only death."

The death knight raised Frostmourne in a position to thrust. He drew it back and pushed it forward with the force to stab clean through a massive block of ice, but something incredible happened.

He missed.

Arthas whirled around to gaze behind him after feeling the force of something colliding with his back and found that none other than Li Li Stormstout stood there with the most smug smile on her face.

"That's got to be embarrassing. You missed a still target?"

"Damn you and your tornados!" Arthas shot a Death Coil at the girl but found that a much larger pandaren made his way between them, absorbing the spell.

"Ha! That tickled," a familiar brewmaster taunted. Chen then clashed with Arthas head on, opening with a Keg Toss and then spewing his Flame Breath which simultaneously set the Lich King on fire and melted Michael's prison of ice. Arthas did not flinch to the flames, but they were causing him harm. Staff and sword collided with each other a few times before Kel began to attack Chen. He was interrupted, much to his chagrin, by an unknown bolt piercing his skeletal hand. The lich turned back to the shadows and found in its place was Valla, Sanctuary's demon hunter. The two exchanged bolts and spells while Li Li snuck around to make an attempt at removing Michael's bonds.

"You've got to be more careful about where you pass out. You're lucky Valla noticed your abduction and enlisted us to help save your butt."

"You try falling from seventy stories in the air, surviving the landing, and then fighting a demon lord without collapsing face first on the floor."

Li Li paused for a moment, "Yeah, okay, you've got a point."

The pandaren girl made swift work of the chains' enchantment and summoned her Cloud Serpent to shatter the irons on Michael's wrists."There you go. Now let's get out of here!"

The pair weaved their way through the chaos and sprinted out into the darkness of the cavern. Chen and Valla noticed their departure, and retreated with them. Chen used his Wandering Keg to push back Kel and Arthas into a corner and then rolled off passed Valla to catch up with Michael and Li Li. The demon hunter Vaulted back to catch up with Chen as he broke out of his keg. The rings on Li Li's staff gave them the light they needed to see where they were headed and, once they believed themselves far enough away, they stopped moving.

"What are you doing?!" Michael demanded, confused.

"We're going to Hearth back to the HQ," Valla stated matter-of-factly. She then approached Michael and extended her hand, "Take my hand. Since you don't have a Hearthstone of your own, we'll have to be connected for it to affect you."

Michael hesitated for a moment, remembering the hostility she expressed towards him at their first meeting, and instinctively distrusted her. However, after remembering what Li Li said about her, he dismissed his concerns and held Valla's hand. After they were locked, the demon hunter began the teleportation back to the HQ and the rest followed suit.

Valla and Michael materialized in the former's room. It was a simple space that displayed demonic trophies on the walls and some small ones on her table and on her desk. A cushioned rocking chair hid in the corner with a crossbow decaled blanket draping over it. Aside from the trophies, her bed was the most grand of all her items. It was king-sized, the standard size given to all Heroes, and possessed a beautifully embroidered quilt that displayed a golden rose design in its center.

The demon hunter moved passed Michael and turned to face him removing her hood as she did, allowing the teen to see her short, straight, jet black hair that just barely didn't reach her shoulders.

"I… I want to apologize," Valla began. "For the way I treated you when we first met. I see now that I was wrong to distrust you so, and for that I am sorry. I saw what Diablo did and the way you fought him with pure, unfiltered hatred seething through you. We're not so different, I think. That said, I think it's a good idea to start again."

Valla extended her hand to Michael, "My name is Valla, demon hunter of Sanctuary."

The teen accepted her hand and shook it, a small smile on his face, "Michael. A true pleasure to make your acquaintance. Though, I do have one question: why didn't you step in when I got kidnapped?"

The demon hunter lightly blushed out of embarrassment, "The Lich King was the one who obtained you. Wherever he is, though, Kel'thuzad is not far behind. I wouldn't have stood a chance if I had fought both of them alone."

"I see." There was a moment of silence between the two, "Well, we should probably reconvene with the others."

"Ah, yes, of course. Come on," Valla moved the the door and held it open for Michael to pass through first. They made their way down to the lobby with Chen and Li Li already waiting for them when they arrived.

"You two took your sweet time getting here," Li Li snipped. "You guys have fun?"

A wave of annoyance rushed over Valla's features, "Master Chen, you would do well to teach that niece of yours to mind her tongue. I think Raynor and Tychus have influenced her too much."

The brewmaster did nothing but let loose a hearty laugh before responding, "I learned a long time a ago that trying to manage Li Li would only drive me crazy."

A begrudged sigh escaped the demon hunter's lips and Michael let loose a small chuckle. The teen put a hand on her shoulder, "You know, you really should loosen up. A nice little quip in her direction would have been ideal. Something like 'what, jealous?' I think that would have been awesome."

Valla became slightly flustered, "But that would insinuate that you and I-"

Michael waved his hand, "No, no, no, you're not getting it. It's not meant to be serious, it's just meant to be fun. It's kind of like a friendly challenge; who's able to come up with the better witty remark? Next time something like that happens, try it. I think you'll be surprised at how entertaining it is not just for you, but the people around you as well."

"My goal is not to entertain. It is to always become better at my art no matter what."

A small sigh loosed from the teen, "You know, where I come from, that kind of 'all work and no play' mentality shortens your lifespan. I know you're all immortal here, but I just want you to think on that. After all, think of how many more demons you could kill with a longer lifespan."

Valla groaned in frustration, "Enough of your jests. I'm going to bed. See you all later." The demon hunter marched all the way back up to the floor where her quarters resided. She pushed through her room's door and firmly shut it behind her. She locked it habitually and stripped her armor, changing into simple black pajamas and letting herself fall on her bed. Her fiery orange eyes drifted to the door as if she expected someone to knock on it, but nothing happened. With a long sigh of relief the demon hunter shut her eyes and, after a time, drifted off into sleep.

She had a dream that night. She dreamt she was a child again, up early in the morning for her mother's breakfast. It wasn't ready yet and to pass the time she wrestled with her twin brother on the living room floor, her father acting as what would have been a referee. Observing from behind the cooking pot, her mother did nothing but smile and lightly laugh. Breakfast was ready, and the family ate together unknowing it would be the last time they would do so. In what seemed an instant demons were everywhere, the town's guards not standing a chance against them. The girl's father picked up his sword and went to fight them, ordering his family to hide as he left. He never came back, and the demons never stopped. They were found where they hid, the mother and boy were torn apart right in front of the girl. She would have been too, had it not been for the intervention of mysterious cloaked figures who wielded bows, crossbows, daggers, and other lethal tools. One of them extended a hand to her, calm in all of the chaos. She took it, seeing no other option open to her. When she rose to her feet she was ripped from her memory and back into reality, feeling someone's hands on her shoulder and thigh. Instinct kicked in and she immediately attacked by grabbing both hands and swinging herself sideways to plant both of her feet into the visitor's chest, causing them to fall to the floor winded. She leapt from her bed and mounted her unknown enemy and began repeatedly punching at their shielded face. The second party seized her arms and pulled them down and to the side causing her face to smash into their forehead. They then flipped Valla over and moved up to pin the demon hunter's hands above her head as they straddled her.

"Pull yourself together, woman! Don't you know an ally when you see one?!"

Valla stopped struggling for a few moments and focused her eyes on the one on top of her, "Michael? What the hell are you doing here? How did you get in?"

"I heard you screaming in here, so I busted down the door. I thought you were dying in here!"

The demon hunter groaned, "We can't die in the Nexus, you idiot. You know that."

"Well, sorry I come from a world where no one comes back from death." Michael released Valla's hands and stood up, extending his own hand to help the demon hunter to her feet, "Are you seriously okay, though?"

Valla accepted the teen's hand and got up to her feet, "Just a bad dream. Don't worry about it, okay?" The demon hunter returned to her bed and sat on its edge, resting her head in her hands.

"That sounded like more than 'just a bad dream.' You attacked me for God's sake! I mean I know that's what you were gonna do the first time we met but I think that we're passed that now."

There was silence. Neither could really figure out what they wanted to say, what with the adrenaline still running. Michael leaned his back against the wall and slid down to the ground, resting his arms on his knees.

"I have nightmares too sometimes," the teen said abruptly. Valla lifted her head and rested her eyes on him, "Yeah, I know. How can someone like me, seemingly mentally sound, possibly have nightmares? What have I seen or done that could possibly make me wake up afraid in the middle of the night? Quite a few things, believe it or not. I've seen soldiers hold their dying brothers-in-arms. I've seen men become nothing but splattered gore on pavement. I myself have ended human lives well too many times for someone my age. Lives that won't return. And their screams… God, their screams were the same ones that I heard you scream. I heard all of them at once. It took the military forever to get me out of that God forsaken war zone. I was born into death and destruction and when I arrived in civilization, what was considered 'normality,' I struggled to integrate. I was violent, I was cold, and I was alone. But there were two who accepted me. Who stayed by my side and helped me turn from soldier to civilian. I often was aggressive towards them, but they kept coming back to me. I never understood it, though now I think I'm getting the idea. This, what just happened, reminded me of myself a few years back. You're right, Valla, we're not so different and that's why we need to stick together and trust each other. Just because we got off on the wrong foot and just because we don't know each other very well doesn't mean I won't care about you if you're in a rough place. If there's one thing I learned from Zoey and Rook, it's compassion. They had that in abundance, and I guess a bit of it got rubbed off on me."

Valla could scarcely believe the teen's story. All of that darkness in the heart and mind of one child? But she was that child. The one with nothing and no one to comfort her. To help her control that darkness. Instead, she found people that taught her to unleash her darkness upon that which she hated.

"You don't need to say anything. It's written all over your face."

The demon hunter didn't even realize that she allowed herself to display the emotions she felt. The sadness and the pity. She looked away, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to look like that. I was more shocked than anything."

"One more thing you need to know about me," the teen stood up, "I know when someone lies, when anyone lies, so it's useless to do so. I'm not mad, I just hate redundancy."

The boy turned and began to leave but halted in the doorway, "Sorry about slamming your face against my forehead. I hope I didn't hurt you too much."

"It didn't hurt initially, but it will bruise in time. No harm done, really. I mean we Heroes get killed on a regular basis so this is really nothing to get hung up on."

Michael gave a small chuckle, "Good. I'll see you later Valla."

With that, the boy set off. The demon hunter fell backwards and laid there on her bed for a few more moments before cursing to the empty room, "Damn you Medivh."

 **Author's Note: Damn, this one took a while. Sorry about the wait, school likes to make me halt crap that I want to do. Hope the length of this chapter makes up for the pause, though.**

 **By the way, since I'm not sure many of you reading this are aware, I have a parallel project that I'm writing as well. It's a Sword Art Online story that is centered entirely around a band of OC's, not the main cast from the manga/anime. Be sure to check it out!**

 **Alright, time for me to get back to work.**


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